Descent Into Insanity
by TPN4Life
Summary: This is basically my version of Yuugo in Promised Neverland. He’s probably a bit more insane here than in the actual manga/anime. Just saying. T in case. Edit: In this version Lucas has only 2 limbs left. I never realized that Lucas only lost one arm apparently, but I don’t want to change it. That’s too much work.
1. Years of Loneliness

**I got past the part where [SPOILERS] Yuugo and Lucas died, and I still really hate yet understand why they died. Doesn't mean I ain't gonna vent. Yuugo was my favorite character! If I had to choose between Yuugo's life ending and any other character, I would pick Yuugo every time. No other character has ever really gotten into my soul like that through the entire manga/anime.**

**Can't wait until they do animate Yuugo. Though I do hope that they give him a good voice. And that they nail his character.**

**Anyways, I should stop ranting on and on about this, so I'm just going to write random stuff about Yuugo. I'll start a while before he meets the kids from Grace Field. And, really sorry, but this is for _me_, not for anyone else. So...**

**If you don't like, then don't read. It is for me, but if you want, you can read it, too.**

**And now, I'll stop ranting.**

The silence overwhelms my senses as I hold the broken tea cup, shaking ever so slightly. They sit around the table in their usual seats, laughing at each others's jokes. None of them seem to see me, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that they are sitting around the table and drinking tea with me.

Their corpses have already been digested by **_them_**. Crying out as their lives were cast away like nothing, I can still hear them screaming at me to run and survive without them. To be the sole survivor.

The memory makes me nauseous.

Why me? I was the one that dragged them into that mess. Every choice I made got them killed. Throwing them time and time again at something we couldn't defeat, at...

This time, the bile reaches the top of my throat before settling again.

_Stop it! Stop thinking about them! It all happened a long time ago! It's over. There's nothing you can do to change it..._

But I just can't help it. What if I could have saved them? Would anything have let them sit here with me, enjoying tea and cookies with me? They would be living the high life with me, too...

But their bodies were left to rot on the forest floor, then dragged away and eaten by _**them**_. Those _**things** _that killed them all!

I can hear them shouting more clearly. They want me to join them...

But hadn't they told me to live? To escape? So why...

When I rush to the toilet for the first time in a month, I see Lucas leaning against the wall, grinning at me. "Good to see ya haven't kicked the bucket yet," he tells me.

"Fuck off, Lucas. I don't—!" My stomach churns at the thought of his name. I heave on the floor, just a few feet away from the toilet.

"Are you okay?" His hand lands on my shoulder, feeling just how I remembered. Soft and comforting and warm.

Nothing that I deserve to have.

So I pull away from his touch, baring my teeth at him. "I told ya to fuck off!" _It will pass,_ I tell myself. _He will disappear soon, just like the rest of them._

But he isn't fading away. Lucas persisted, refusing that I get up on my own. "You need someone to help you. You can't just sit here like this, all by yourself."

Before I could hold myself back, I snarl, "Oh, and who's the one that left me to be like this?"

The sentence sinks in its greedy little claws, tearing both of us down with how bitter and hurt I sounded. After that, Lucas disappears, joining the others in the tea party. Regret hit me like a truck full of cattle children. It wasn't his fault that we couldn't beat _**them**..._

But it still felt like a betrayal. To leave their mangled corpses like that. To leave Lucas to die like the rest of them.

Then I could hear myself talk. My old self talk about seeing the human world. I walk into my room, feeling all woozy and shaking violently, but I won't stop talking. My words are so... sappy and cheesy.

"Let's go to the human world, together!" Really? Are you that stupid to follow me? Just because I said a few inspiring words?

I blink a couple of times. I'm in my room, staring at the wall. The names stare back at me.

I wish you were here, Lucas. I don't want to be alone anymore.

**{Time Skip}**

It became easier to ignore the clawing regret in my head as I slept. The nightmares had gone away, too. But it always comes back the moment I open my eyes. Every waking moment was a stab to the gut, and all I could do was take every blow.

Today is no exception. I go through the motions, feeling any energy I had from this morning evaporate into thin air. It's too hot, too cold. What temperature should it be on? 38 degrees C or -12 degrees C?

I like to feel my skin burn, but the fruit also rot much faster. But when it's cold, the water is frozen. So what temperature? Which one, Lucas?

22 degrees C? That's not one of the options, though. I trust you, Lucas...

After all, you save me even when I don't feel like being saved.

**{A Month Before Grace Field Children Enter}**

Pain feels wonderful, especially when I use a knife. A gun only makes it harder to walk and move, but a knife allows me to cut a sliver of my skin without hindering me at all. Lucas hates it when I cut myself; scratch that, everyone hates it when I cut myself.

But it makes me feel alive.

Though the gun is tempting. Just one shot and all of it is over. It was appealing even while I was feeling better, trying hard to stay alive, but now, after 13 years, it's so hard to resist just ending it all. I can see Lucas again if I pull the trigger.

But he always frowns disapprovingly anytime I look at any gun like that. And I just can't hurt him any more than that. Perhaps I can just have a man-eater eat me...

...Yeah, right. I couldn't do that. Seeing any man-eater makes me almost blind with rage.

Even more so the thought of **_him_**.

I set the knife down, gleefully examining the cuts on my arm. They would heal rather quickly and wouldn't scar. That I made sure of. But I can still enjoy my red blood trickling down my arms.

If I lose enough of it, I can laugh more easily with them. I could see them once more. Only Lucas seems to be able to see me, so if I die, I could see them again. All I needed to do was one quick slice across each wrist...

And I would have to watch Lucas's horrified eyes when he sees my corpse.

No, I can't. I can't kill myself. It's unfair how easily they can throw their life away, but I can't do the same.

_Coward._

Before Lucas can even surprise me my cuts are already bandaged and covered by my long sleeves. His warm smile brings out just a tiny ray of hope, that I can last a bit longer before I finally die. I can almost ignore the bodies piling up when I see his smile.

_Sniveling bastard._

Their blood seems to pour down the walls. It's not so terrifying anymore, however. All I have to do is stare at my gun until it goes away.

_You deserve to die._

I'm staring into the barrel now. Just a jittery finger would kill me right now. The empty darkness feels colder than it should be. Perhaps...

Lucas should have been the one to live.

...Help me. Please. I don't want to die alone. I want to kill _**them**_. But I can't do it by myself.

I'm too much of a cowardly bastard to do so.

**{A Week Before Grace Field Children Enter}**

I crouch below a wild man-eater that's waiting in the trees for its next victim. The stupid thing hasn't even thought that its prey could be hiding right beneath it in the bushes. All it knows is that if it sees a human, it should pounce.

So when the bushes start rustling, the man-eater tenses up, ready to chew whatever comes into the clearing. The thought of a tasty human makes it salivate. But the only thing that comes out is a demonic elk-like creature. To the creature, it was disappointing. It had hoped for a human. But anything was better than nothing any day.

So the man-eater pounces on the elk-creature, devouring it with one gulp before climbing up the trees again. As it climbs, it never notices me sneaking past the clearing to climb a large apple tree by the waterside. With ease, I silently pick a few apples before stealthily climbing down the tree. I wait until it looks away before darting over to another plant to pick some more fruits before soundlessly diving into the bushes.

It never sees me as I walk back to the shelter. Lucky for me. I don't have to kill that man-eater and waste my bullets. Not that I'm low on bullets, but I'd rather save them for _**him**_.

I reenter the shelter and put everything away before I head to my room. They started the party without me. Everyone ignores me again, and I just laugh with them, even though they can't hear me.

Well, all except for Lucas.

His eyes watch me, waiting to see if I need help. Honestly, he doesn't seem to notice that half of his face has already melted away. All of them are rotting, their skin falling off their bones, but I laugh anyways. I pretend that they're still alive, that they're actually here.

"The cookies are delicious as always," I say, and only Lucas agrees. Only he hears me. The others don't even look my way.

I need them to see me.

So I take my knife and hold it right above my skin, watching them stare at the knife. Now they see me. Now they shake their head and tell me not to kill myself.

But what's the point of staying alive if your friends ignore you? They seem to stare right through me. Once I put down the knife, they ignore me again.

A bit of my tea cup breaks off. The broken thing can barely stand me moving it. I excuse myself and head to my room, ignoring Lucas calling out to me.

The door locks behind me, and I sit in front of the wall again, reading my mad scribbles. I read the names out loud, trying to match faces to names. But some I just can't remember. All I can remember are their rotting faces, devoid of life.

The knife flashes as it cuts through my skin. But I just can't stomach it anymore. I set the knife down, willing myself to let them go. Ignore John crying in the corner, he isn't real.

"He's dead."

Saying it out loud doesn't help. It makes it worse. I am the reason he's dead. My choices drove him to the grave.

Happy families don't exist for very long. They all fade away. I still remember that one group that somehow got here with half of its members still alive. And I hated them.

How?

How are they still alive?

They needed help.

Help.

They needed help dying.

I helped them.

I. Helped. Them.

They didn't deserve to live here.

I chased them out with my gun when they refused to leave.

Shoot.

One went down.

The others cried. They couldn't stand their friend dying.

They were just chumps.

After they left I couldn't stand up anymore. I shot someone.

I shot a child.

A child that wouldn't have lived anyways. I gave him a swift death.

I was left all alone, and I'll keep it that way.

Anything to keep me from forgetting the pain.

I deserve the pain.

**{Right before Grace Field Children Enter}**

They're gone! They're gone!

Lucas is gone as well! They left me again! They're all gone!

Nobody showed up to the tea party today. I'm left alone again. At least I could hear their voices, no matter how much they ignored me. Now they're gone.

I need to see them again. I need them. I can't be alone again.

The cool feel of the gun's metal against my head is reassuring. I can see them again. All I have to do is pull the trigger, and I'll see them again. And they'll be able to see me again. Not just Lucas.

But before I can shoot, I hear children talking. About fifteen of them. And they all seem happy to be here.

Cattle children. They must be cattle children.

To see a dead man's body would scar them for life.

_So what? I already killed a child. What's a few more scarred children?_

Even so, I put my gun back in my pocket. Not a moment too soon, for the door opened right afterwards. There are numbers on their neck.

They're from Grace Field.

They're the 15 children that had escaped a week ago.

I want to vomit. They're all there. Not a single one had died. They're all one big, happy family.

Jealousy slithers through my veins. I can see how happy they are and how much they love each other.

_Why?!_

Why are they all together? Why are _they_ allowed to be a family, while I'm forced to be alone? They're chumps that know nothing. So how are _they_ still alive?!

They interrupted me. They're keeping me from joining Lucas.

"You've come a long way. Congrats...and welcome to Shelter B06–32."

_Though none of you will last for long. I guarantee it._

**So, that's all for now. First chapter. I just—I don't know what I was going for. All I want to say is that I'm setting up the mindset Yuugo is going to have for the rest of this story.**

**That's all for now! See ya!**


	2. Let Them In

**Hi, whoever is reading this. You must be really bored or really desperate for more fanfic if you're reading this after reading my summary. No worries. I wasn't expecting anyone to read this, but I'll still leave some room for you. It's mostly for me, but you can still read this, too.**

**Well, time to start actually writing the story. By the way, it's mostly going to have the same plot as the manga/anime, but with a few differences up until the part where Yuugo was supposed to die. Don't like, don't read.**

**{Emma's Pov}**

A man. There's a man in this shelter. Could he be William Minerva? My heart races at the thought of finally escaping this world of demons, of seeing the human world.

But...

His manners are awful! The man's feet are on the table, showing off his worn-out shoes, he gobbles down the cookies as if he's some kind of animal, and he leans back on his chair so far it's a miracle he doesn't fall over. But everything else is neat and tidy, and even his clothes are clean despite the cookie crumbs all over it, so is he just letting himself go for the moment? Did we catch him in a bad mood?

I don't know what to think of him, but everyone else seems to be disappointed. Some are even downright horrified to see this man. But we can't back out. We just can't.

I ask him, "Are you Minerva?" He finally stops downing the cookies, staring at me from across the table.

"Nope." He leans in, smirking at how our spirits sink. "Too bad for you kids. I'm not William Minerva." Then he bites into another cookie.

My heart sinks. He isn't Minerva. Minerva isn't here waiting for us.

Ray doesn't back down. He steps forward, more confident. "Then please call him. We came all this way in order to meet Minerva." We all nod our heads, agreeing with Ray.

"He ain't here, chum!"

All of our hearts stop. _What? He's not here?_

The man swallows down another cookie, even more entertained. "What a shame, huh? No Minervas around here, at all." He doesn't sound very sympathetic.

_What's the meaning of this? Minerva's supposed to be here!_

"So Minerva was really a dirty liar!?" All of the children are on the verge of tears, but the man doesn't care. He just...doesn't care. At all. Not even a little bit.

Ray's calmness soothes me. "Calm down." And I do. Everyone does. Everything will be fine.

"Clearly you know of Minerva, too. We need more information. Where is he right now?"

The man is unaffected by Ray's cold attitude. In fact, he just seems more relaxed and amused. "No idea, man!" He laughs as he says this, but I could hear a moment of sorrow in his laughter. His eyes seem to dart over the room every now and then, searching for something.

But he doesn't know where Minerva is. The human world seems to be getting even further out of reach.

Ray is getting fed up with this man. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"Who am I?" The man reaches into an inner coat pocket, and we all tense up. _Is he pulling out a knife? A gun?_

But instead, he pulls out a very familiar-looking pen. "I'm your senior," he finishes, before fishing out another cookie from the box.

Even Ray is surprised. "It's the same pen..." one of the children say. Another says, "Senior?"

The man stands up on the table, grabbing the hem of his shirt. "Well, not from Grace Field, at any rate."

_How did he know we were from Grace Field?_

I blink, shocked by what I was seeing. He has an ID code on his abdomen, not his neck.

The man continues speaking, holding up the pen as if it were a trophy. "I come from a plantation called Glory Bell. I escaped it 13 years ago..." Here he pauses, searching the room again, before continuing. "...with my colleagues. And thanks to this pen."

He certainly doesn't sound thankful about the pen. _It's probably nothing._

All of us are in awe. _He's the same as us..._ All of my suspicions disappear. He's another escapee. Just like us.

"That's right." He drinks in all of our awe. "I'm just the same as you. Ended up here while searching for Minerva."

Our hopes rose. _So there are other survivors living outside the walls. People just like us!_

"However..." He crouches down, looking all of us in the eye, and sighs. Now he seems...tired. Exhausted. Sad. "When I finally reached the place for real, Minerva wasn't around. I waited here for a hella long time, ended up living here, and no trace of the man. No way around it, man's a _dirty liar_."

"See?!" the children cried.

But the man had to be wrong! Minerva had to be here. He must be lying! There's no way Minerva would abandon us...right?

"Though...I gotta say I'm grateful for this shelter, y'know?" He eyes the walls with a dreamy expression, as if reliving enjoyable memories. "There's a stock of food and water, running electricity...lots of living space, too...Everything's provided for. And a lot of material about the world, and valuable information..."

He turns to us again, and for once, he sincerely smiles. "Hurrah for my man Minerva!" The children are excited, probably already thinking about what room they want.

Yet there is something _odd_ about this man. He looks about the room again. I look around as well, and realize that there was nobody else here but him. "Say, where's the rest of your group then?"

His eyes widen, and they have a haunted look to them while he says, "Dead. All of 'em. I'm the only survivor." The table begins to shake as our eyes widen.

He stares at all of our faces, his own pale and sweating, and he hurriedly tries to reassure us. "Ah—come on, don't get so gloomy now! It all happened a long time ago." The way he practically yells it has me taking a couple of steps back.

"But..." None of us can speak up about it. This man used to have a family, but now they're all dead.

And he had to live here all alone, by himself...

"I told ya, it happened a long time ago. I'm fine with it now." One look at his face said otherwise, but we all stay quiet. The man seems a bit unstable, calm one second and frantic the next.

"And I gave up looking for Minerva a long time ago, too. Now I'm just taking my time and having it easy."

"Whaaa—You gave up, mister?" None of us can believe our ears. This man just _gave up_? Another escapee, the same as us, gave up looking for Minerva? How much tougher could it possibly get?

He ignored the small children's question, asking his own instead. "What's up with _you_ guys, though? What sorta group are ya?"

"We're—!" Don tried to reply, but the man cut him off with a wave of his hands.

"You're from Grace Field, and...the 15 of you escaped it 7 days ago." My mouth opens with shock—_How did he know?_ "That much is clear enough." He points at his neck, right where our ID codes are. "A glance at this and it was obvious."

_So he knew this whole time?_ My respect for him grows with every passing moment.

"What I wanna know is..." He leans in even closer, a wild look in his eyes that I can't decipher. "How a bunch of total suckers like you chumps managed to survive without a single one of ya biting the dust?"

"Huh?" we all say at the same time, confused and sort of insulted.

He shrugs. "Look, it's just like I said...This is a shelter. Food, water, furnished rooms...It has everything." I already knew where this was going, but I prayed that this man was not selfish.

"However, stocks are limited, you know?" Now his eyes shone with something else, something dangerous. I freeze after I look into his eyes.

"I'm not letting anyone take a bite of my share. I'm serious," he added before any of us could retort. "I'm older than you. I came here first. This is my home."

Respect for him vanishes before he can finish talking.

"And consequently...Y'all gonna die. Sooner or later, you dead. 100% chance. 'Cause you're weak," he snaps, restrained fury causing him to vibrate. He's trying to keep himself from killing us. That much is clear.

He could kill us right where we stand a dozen times over. All of a sudden, I find myself agreeing with him. It was pure luck that we survived so far. If not for Sung Joo and Musica, then we'd all be dead.

The children start to yell, offended by his statement. "We're not—!"

"Are too," he interrupts. "Just look at ya. It's obvious y'all never even been on the brink of death. You've barely even scratched the very basics...and yet you're all here. This is nagging me." The hair on the back of my neck rise, alerting me that this man was serious.

He wasn't just bluffing. He's dead serious.

"The very image of naive chumps who know nothing..." He leans back, taking us all in with his now calm, cold gaze. "That's why I can guarantee it. You will die. No matter what you do, it's simply impossible to stay alive out in this world." Then he shrugs as if our lives meant nothing.

I grit my teeth. He's kidding, right? This is all a joke. Surely he doesn't mean to kick us out and let us die, right?

"That's what happened to your former colleagues?" We all turn to look at Ray. Even the man's eyes stop straying to the walls for a couple of seconds.

A shark grin spreads on the man's face. "Exactly. Dead one after another 'cause they were all wimps, until I was the only survivor. I was the only one _able to_ survive. 13 years..." He drifts off, looking someplace else for a moment before turning back to us.

Has he gone insane? Is this what is in store for us? Everyone else takes a small step back, as if they can sense the man's insanity.

"Only I...Only I figured out the trick to staying alive." Fearing this man, the small children hugged one another, slouching in on themselves.

"The trick...?" I probed, wanting to know what it was yet also fearing the answer. Immediately, his intense gaze lands on me, and I can feel my blood freeze.

"Drop the dead weight."

Silence. No one even dares to breathe.

"Comrades equals dead weight. Hope equals dead weight. Caring equals dead weight." I can't believe my ears. This man...No, this _monster_ is saying that our entire family means nothing. That we're going to die because we want to live together.

"All of that just weighs you down," he finishes. I snap.

"You're wrong!" I slam my hand against the table.

"Afraid I'm not. It does."

My visions turns red. This man...No wonder his family died! He shrugs off his coat, probably because it's too hot.

And then he pulls out a gun.

My family screams. Cold steel touches my head. I can't breathe. His grip is too tight!

He's serious! He's gonna kill me!

"Worst dead weight is a troupe of clowns passing as chums," he hisses.

The hand around my throat loosens just enough for me to breathe before tightening once more. Everything's blurry. Their faces blend together into an array of colors.

"Hand it over." Nobody speaks or moves. "Your pen, kids. Fork it already."

_No, don't! We'll lose Minerva and his trail!_

"I'll be keeping it so y'all will never step in here again. I don't want anyone weighing me down." His hand shakes, but his voice never wavers. "Sorry, but you guys have to leave."

Ray glares at the man, but he doesn't make a move.

"Well then, gimme your pen and get the hell away from my face. Otherwise," here his grip tightens even further, "every single one of you is going to die right here and now."

**{Yuugo's POV}**

My entire body trembles. Every pair of eyes are on the girl.

I can't shoot another child. I can't.

But if they won't leave me to die...To join Lucas...

Then I'll do what I must.

Just scare them away.

Children are scared easily. They'll leave. They'll give me the pen and leave.

Then I can end it all without anyone disturbing me. My corpse will rot here. I deserve it. I left them.

I hate them. Why aren't they leaving? "Come on, fork it already. I'm tired of seeing your faces." _Still full of hope and love._

Families make me sick. Something that I'll never have. They hate me now. Just end it here.

Who would care about your death? They'll live on. They'll survive.

After all, they have each other.

Cyclops over there is glaring daggers at me, but won't move. He's trying so hard to decide what the best decision is. After all, if he does hand over the pen, they'll die in the wasteland. But if he doesn't, antenna girl dies.

_Just like you._

Dead weight. All of it.

"Well?" This is wasting my time. Lucas and them are gone. I need to catch up to them. I might forget about them if I don't join them.

I don't want to forget the pain. I deserve the pain.

Then antenna girl punches me as hard as she can in my crotch. It feels like she set it on fire!

It hurts! It hurts so much! Hurts almost as much as that bullet to my leg!

I clutch at the source of my pain, trying to breathe and steady myself. It hurts so much! I hate her! Everything hates me!

It hurts! It hurts to see them like this!

They care about her so much. I want that again. But no one wants me. They don't want me, either.

She reminds me too much of me.

"But he didn't! He was bluffing. He doesn't want to kill anyone, just chase us out... Am I right?"

_I don't want to kill. Nobody else deserves the pain of death but me._

I pull my gun out and shoot. The bullet grazes her cheek, exactly how I wanted it to. Blood oozes out of the scratch, and I have to focus on her goddamn annoying eyes to keep myself from falling into a stupor.

"Like hell I was bluffing!" I growl, and I take great pleasure in how everyone else takes a step back. They all cry out her name.

"Well, _see_? You just missed again!" She seems to stare right into my soul. This girl makes me sick.

Kicking out the other group was easy enough. I shot a child. I don't deserve anyone. Nobody wants me.

_Get out before I kill you, too._

"You don't want us around, but you don't really want to kill, either. That's why you're trying to make us leave." Now the other children are nodding along, especially Cyclops right next to her.

"She's right," says Nose. "If it was all the same to him, he could have killed us all right at the beginning. What's more, by kicking us out, he's risking that we make a ruckus and lead the demons here." That catches everyone's attention.

Stop! Stop saying those things! I hate you all!

_I don't want to kill another child._

"Bullcrap!" I yell. "I don't wanna to deal with 15 bloody corpses in my home, that's all!"

_No more corpses...I can't deal with more death. I don't want to be the reason more people die._

I stand up straight and tall, trying to be as intimidating as possible. Most of them flinch, but the older kids just glare.

_I might hurt you more. Just leave me. Leave me to die._

"I couldn't care less 'bout you stupid brats... Don't think you're worth a damn." _Lucas, stop staring at me._

"Next one ain't for show! I'm serious! For real this time, get the hell outta here or I'll blow your fucking head off!" My hand's shaking too much. She's too much like me.

_Don't kill her just because you were—no, _are _a failure._

"I refuse." The way she looks at me is too much like me. Too much like my old self. "We can't afford to leave this place. We can't give up on our pen, either."

Just listen to me, you fucking bitch! I'm just trying to help you!

_Help. What a joke, you coward._

_She's right, you can't shoot._

"And also, my family isn't dead weight! Whatever you think of death and weighing down... Comrades, hope, caring... Those are important things! All of them! All of them are important!"

_Stop! Stop saying those things! You'll just attract death. Or is it just me..._

_Is it just me that suffers because of those ideals?_

None of the kids are leaving. Not even the small children. They all stand there, waiting for my next move.

They're so close...

It makes me wanna hurl.

_Fucking bastard, too much of a coward. No wonder everyone else is dead. You never cared enough._

The walls are bleeding again. The bodies are piling up. My body trembles with the effort to stay focused.

All you have to do to help is kill Antenna Girl. It'll be easy.

Help them.

_Help them get depression like you?_

"What are you doing?!" I freeze. Lucas had snapped.

Everyone burst into action after. They're all screaming, "Murderer! What are you doing?! You monster! You're killing them just because you couldn't save us! Kill yourself instead!"

"Stop...That's not it...That's not it..." My head's splitting in two. Everything's warped.

"You're wrong..." _No, they're right._ "John..." _He won't help you. They all know what you really need to do to help._

_Kill yourself instead, you fucking coward. Then you'll have helped._

"You need to calm down." Lucas's hand rests on my shoulder. I freeze. "Don't be the monster that you were."

"Shut up, Lucas." But he isn't going away. Lucas won't leave me alone.

"No. I left you when you needed me most." _No, it's the opposite way around._ "You don't deserve all the suffering." _Leave me alone! I deserve it!_

"I'm sorry. I left you—!"

"You shut the hell up, Lucas!" I point the gun at Lucas, willing him to fade away. Hurt lingers in his eyes as he backs off.

My eyes widen.

_Monster._

I curl up, clutching my head. "No..."

_Freak._

"No..."

_Why haven't you died yet?_

It hurts. They hurt. "Goddamnit!"

_"Yuugo, is something wrong?"_

I look up at Lewis, grinning down at me. "They're... really... awful," I say to the child I had shot.

Lewis's mask slips off, and behind the mask is Lucas's face. Peering down at me with blood pouring out of his mouth. "You left me to die, Yuugo," he whispers before collapsing in a heap of rotting flesh.

After that, I slip on John's severed hand and black out before I can hit the floor.

**Sorry about the awful chapter. I enjoyed writing Yuugo's character. Emma, not so much. I'm going to mostly write in Yuugo's POV from here on out. And I'm going to change the plot a bit, don't worry.**

**But for now, it's going to be pretty similar to the manga/anime.**

**See ya!**


	3. Pharmacophobia

**So, this is where things go a bit off the plot. Somewhat. Not really. Anyways, all I have to say is that here is where things go a bit off canon.**

**Let's get started.**

**{No one's POV}**

Emma watches the man on the bed, her heart breaking. He's tied down to the bed so he doesn't move, and he moans before settling once more. "How is he?" she asks, worried about him.

"He'll be fine for now." Anna wet a towel before placing it on the grown man's head. Face flushed, he mutters something under his breath. Anna's face grows weary. "Though I'm not sure about the severity of his fever later on. It could get worse unless we have the right medicine..."

Anna picks up a medicinal book and flips through the pages, studying the words intensely. "Hey, Emma?" Emma gives a small hum to show she's listening. "Why are we taking care of this man? He threatened to kill you, perhaps all of us, even if he wasn't going to follow through on that threat. So why...?"

The bed groaned as the man violently jerked, pulling on the ropes and almost snapping them in the process. Emma and Anna both jumped, though once it was clear the man wasn't going to move again, both of them relaxed. "You know I couldn't look at myself in the mirror if we let Mister die." Anna nodded, knowing all too well how Emma thought about death and abandonment.

"But what if he doesn't want to be helped?! What if he wants to die?!" Anna blurted out. She blushed madly at her outburst. "I'm sorry, Emma." She bowed her head. "I didn't mean to be so rude."

Reassuringly, Emma placed a hand on Anna's shoulder. "It's alright, Anna," she says. "I don't mind." Anna nods once before burying her nose into her book again.

The silence stretches out, with the man unusually quiet and still. Emma nodded off a while ago, her head resting against Anna's shoulder as she continues to read. To study.

Anna suddenly stands up after checking the clock. Emma, startled, gasps as she falls to the floor. Anna cried out, "Emma!" She quickly reaches forth to help Emma stand up. "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, no, I'm fine. Honest," Emma adds when Anna checks her anyways.

"If you say so." Anna grabs a bottle of pills off the counter and takes two of them out, and tells Emma to "Fetch a glass of water for him to drink with the pills."

Emma does so and brings back a cup of water. "Thank you," Anna says, and Emma grins in response. "Help me grind these pills, please."

"Of course," Emma responds. Together they both grind the pills into a powdery substance that Anna then mixes with the cup of water. "Now what do we do?" asks Emma.

Anna gulps. "We have to wake him up so he can drink this." Every possible scenario ran through her mind. The man would try to kill them when he woke up, and he can easily break these ropes. All Anna can do right now is hope that the man's fever kept him from murdering them on the spot.

Emma sees no problem with this. "Hey, Mister, wake up!" The man's eyelids fluttered open, and he hissed when the bright light hit his eyes.

"Okay, now tilt his head enough so that I can give him this," Anna commands Emma before turning to the wheezing man. "Mister, we're going to need you to drink this. Is that alright?" This was to see if he could respond to her, so she could know the severity of his fever.

He stares at the cup as if it was poison. "What's in there?" he asks before coughing violently.

Worry lifts off of Anna's shoulders. _He can respond. He'll be fine after he drinks this._ "Powdered medicine mixed with water. It's for your fever," she adds, hoping that would help him to agree with her.

Instantly, the man jerks against the ropes, albeit less forceful this time, and panics. "No, don't give me anything! It'll get better on its own!" he hoarsely yells. The bed shakes as the man attempts to escape his binds.

"Hold him down, Emma!" When the man's leg manages to break free from the ropes, Anna screams and ducks.

"I'm trying!" Emma pushes down on the man's chest with all her might, trying to keep him down, but he breaks free anyways. "Mister, calm down! You'll get yourself hurt!"

He backs away, eyes darting everywhere, and he breathes heavily. "Don't give me anything," the man pleads. Anna and Emma hesitate to do anything. In that moment, the man seemed broken and scared.

Due to their hesitation, they can't do anything to stop the man from lunging for a knife. He points it at both of them, backing away. "Stay away!" he shouts, leaning against the wall for support.

Anna faces her palms towards the man in a soothing gesture. "Sir, please calm down. We only want to help you."

The knife shakes in his hands. "I'm begging you, don't give me anything. It only makes it worse," he breathes out. His legs wobble with the effort of standing, but when Emma starts to come forward, the man clumsily slashes at her with the knife.

Anna screams and Emma gasps as the knife passes inches before her face. Any closer and both of her eyes would be gone. She backs off, and the man leans against the bed again, exhausted.

He actually tried to kill her.

Ray, Don, and Gilda barge into the room, fearing the worse had come to pass. "What happened?!" Ray asks before any of the three see the man by the bed, pointing a knife at all of them.

"Don't come closer. Just leave. Leave this place, or I might kill one of you. Just like the other group." Tears threaten to trickle down his cheeks.

Gilda locks the door behind her without breaking eye contact with the man, fearing what he might do if she looks away. None of the kids move an inch after that. Due to their lack of resistance, the man relaxes just a bit, and promptly collapses to the floor.

Gilda gives a little shout; Ray, Don, and Emma rush towards the man; and Anna stands stock still, stunned. "Mister!" cries Emma, kneeling down to shake him.

A flash of metal and Emma yelped, clutching her newly-made scratch on her hand. Don snatched the knife out of the man's shaky hands, and Anna burst into action, tending to Emma's wound. "We're just trying to help you!" Don yelled.

"Get away from me, all of you!" With little effort, the man reclaimes his knife while pushing Don to the side, giving him access to the door. But before he reaches the door, the man stumbles and falls.

"Hold him down!" Anna shouts. Everyone else in the room complies, taking his knife away and grabbing his limbs.

"No, stop!" Soon enough, the children were sweating bullets as the man struggled. If he were in full health, he would have easily gotten out. But he's weaker now, weak enough for the children to keep him down with enough effort. "Don't give me anything!" he screams. "I don't want to go back there!"

Anna stands by one of the man's arms, now holding a syringe. "I'm sorry, Mister, but you leave me no choice." Carefully, Anna sticks the needle into one of his veins. Once all of the tranquilizer is gone, she steps back.

After the children make sure that the man is asleep, Ray pulls Emma aside. "I need to talk to you about something." The two of them leave the rest to tie the man to the bed again. Ray brings Emma over to where he was reading the letter last and then explained to her why the man was so important to their plans. "He knows more about how to get here, how to travel, what foods to eat, how to get them, how to fend off the demons... He knows how to do _everything_ to survive. We need him to guide and protect us while we're outside. All of the secrets of this place lie with that man."

Emma nodded to all of his plans, and together they decided to hold a small gathering of the children to tell them about the plan. There they would figure out how to convince the man to go along with them.

But first, Emma needed a bath.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

It burns. Everything's warm and hot, and I just know that the fever's back. It always comes back after episodes like that. Then I remember.

I had an episode recently.

In front of children.

I hear someone saying, "Hey, Mister, wake up!" It's Antenna Girl. Even a thousand years from now, I would still be able to tell her annoyingly high voice from anyone else's.

The children are still here. They're still in my home.

I want to murder that child.

But not now. I'm too tired right now.

So I open my eyes. The light seems to stab them over and over with sharp needles. It goes away, though. Much faster than a bullet wound.

It's hard to breathe. My lungs are on fire. This pain...

This familiar pain is nice.

A platinum-blonde girl with bright blue eyes—Babysitter—holds a cup of water in her hands, smiling at me with a warmth that worsens my mood. I don't want her warmth. I don't deserve any kindness. "Mister, we're going to need you to drink this. Is that alright?"

I stare at the cup Babysitter's holding. "What's in it?" Coughing hurts. It really does.

She relaxes as soon as she hears my voice. _So weird._ "Powdered medicine mixed with water." No. No, I can't. "It's for your fever," she adds.

Stop! I can't! I've tried! It only makes things worse!

_Get away from me!_

"No, don't give me anything! It'll get better on its own!" I plead, trying desperately not to get the medicine. None of them are listening to me. One of them tries to hold me down.

_I'll kill you! Don't get any closer!_

I break free of the ropes that I didn't even notice was there, pushing Antenna Girl to the side. They both stare at me as if I'm a terrified animal. Cowering in the corner won't help.

"Don't give me anything." I'm begging now, desperately avoiding the medicine. They both hesitate, and I dive for the familiar shine of metal on the counter.

The knife is comforting. It makes me feel safer. They both leave me alone now, watching the knife with fear. They fear death. Of course they do.

Death is my constant companion. I don't fear it. I don't.

_You do. You fear it'll take more and more._

"Stay away!" I point it at both of them. Both girls are frozen. Antenna Girl looks at me with worry and fear. When she stares at me like that, it reminds me of Lucas.

Lucas. The walls are bleeding, but they're still gone. This family chased them away.

I feel weak. The wall supports me, but I don't want them to see me like this. I'm weak like this. My clothing sticks to my skin. It's really hot in here.

Stop looking at me like that. You'll make me more sick. Leave me alone.

_Don't leave me. I can't be alone anymore._

"Sir, please calm down." Babysitter sets the cup down and tries to make soothing gestures. "We only want to help." Lies. She's lying.

She's lying to me. She doesn't want to help. She's going to hurt me. She's going to touch me. Just like everyone else.

_She's not _**him**_, though. She wants to help._

"I'm begging you, don't give me anything. It only makes it worse." My legs are rotting. That's why they feel like noodles. The medicine makes me ill. Don't give me it.

Antenna Girl takes a step forward.

But I know it's not her. It's a man-eater, trying to get close enough to—

_Get away!_

I slash at it with my knife, and it backs off. Another servant screams for it, and then I realize I'm not there anymore. I'm in my shelter. There are no man-eaters.

It was really Antenna Girl. I tried to kill her.

I almost fainted.

I almost killed a child again.

_Monster._

Cyclops, Bean Head, and Prissy Four-Eyes all rush into the room.

_No! Please! I don't want to go back there!_

Now I have to point my knife at all five of them. And Prissy Four-Eyes locks the door as well. The walls move closer, and the air leaves the room. It burns when I breathe. I can't breathe.

_Lucas...!_

"Don't come closer. Just leave. Leave this place, or I might kill one of you. Just like the other group."

_I don't want to kill any more children. Just leave..._

_Why do you have to make it so hard?_

Nobody moves. They're not leaving, but they're not trying to get me. There's more room to breathe now.

I feel so tired.

The ground rushes up to meet me. I hear people screaming my name. They're trying to pick me up.

Don't touch me!

I slash wildly with my arm, and I can hear Antenna Girl cry out in pain. My heart sinks. I don't want to hurt more, but I can't seem to help it.

The knife's gone. Someone took it. **_They're_** closing in. **_They're_** surrounding me, waiting for me to fall asleep again.

_Don't! They're children._

"Get away from me, all of you!" I push Bean Head to the side while taking my knife back. The door calls me, and I try to make it, I really do.

But my foot slips on an eyeball.

_I need to leave this place. Get to a quiet place. Kill myself. Anything!_

They're jumping on top of me. The children, not the man-eaters. But _**he**_ will be back. And I can't stand _**his**_ touch.

"No, stop!" They don't listen. They pin me down, and even as I struggle, I can feel my energy leak out. Just like blood. Babysitter is picking up the cup again. "Don't give me anything! I don't want to go back there!" I plead, beg, but no one cares.

_Why should they listen to a monster?_

"I don't want to do this, but you've given us no other choice." A small prick in the side of my arm is the last thing I feel before I fall asleep again, sinking under.

The bleeding walls cry with me, sobbing as I'm taken to another room. An unfamiliar bed for me to sleep on. Lewis holding surgical tools, ready for another round of torture.

And this time, Lucas isn't here to save me.

**Hello, whoever may be reading. Again, it doesn't really make sense for now, but it will. Maybe. Probably not.**

**Anyways, gotta go watch Markiplier's FNAF VR Video Part 4 now! I've been waiting for it and I am not waiting any longer.**

**Bye!**


	4. Deal?

**Hey, if you're reading this. How have you been? Good? Good.**

**Story time!**

**{Yuugo's POV}**

I feel someone touching me. With long fingers that like to bruise my skin. To burn me. Cut me. Bring me to the brink of death and back.

Death hates me. It doesn't want me.

_Everyone hates you. No one would ever want you._

_Except—_

No, he hates me, too. He only loves to play with me and that's it. I can't—I won't ever have another family. Death will just take them away again.

Do you love me, Death?

If you accept me, I'll love you back.

I'll love anything.

_Just don't leave me._

I wake up to the sound of talking. Conversing. Did they come back? They have!

They came back for me!

Ropes are trying to hold me back. But they easily break.

_Like human bones in a man-eater's jaws._

I stumble out of the room I was in. Nobody's there. Not in their rooms, either.

Perhaps they're in the dining hall. They have a tea party set up.

Before I burst through the double doors, I hear someone very familiar laughing. Someone very annoying. Antenna Girl. My heart sinks.

They're not back. They haven't come back.

_Why would they ever come back for you?_

Quietly, I walk into the kitchen and grab the knife hanging off a hook. They put it in the wrong spot. It's not supposed to go here.

_It's supposed to be in my chest._

Light reflects off of the beautiful, stainless metal of the knife. I can end it. Right here, right now. Lucas is waiting for me there.

Just a slit across the wrist...

But arguing from the dining hall brings me back. It makes my vision tint red. They're defiling this shelter with their love and care. They're wiping all of our memories away and replacing it with their own. Thieves, all of them.

And thieves must get punished, right? Perhaps I can chop off one of their hands. That's what they used to do, right? Do they still do that now?

No, they don't. They don't punish thieves like that anymore.

Because they're weak.

_Because they care._

Caring is dead weight. Anyone who gets caught stealing is dead weight.

_You couldn't bear to chop off their hand._

...True. I'm weak. Selfish. I'm dead weight.

_You care._

Nobody needs me to weigh them down.

I'm standing in front of the dining hall doors now. Knife in hand. The knife comforts me. If anything goes wrong, at least I have a way to kill myself.

_Don't let them know._

I open the doors to spy a child in front of me, reaching for where the door handle used to be. His face pales and he trembles uncontrollably before he and the other small children scream and run away. All I can do is smile and hope that they can't see my vulnerability.

"Hello, Mister. I've been waiting for you. How have you been?" Frowning, I glare at Antenna Girl.

_Don't let them see._

"..." There's nothing to be said. I ignore her for the bloody walls. Sometimes, if I look hard enough, I can see John's face.

But not now. Don't look for them now. These children are looking at you, waiting for an answer.

Antenna Girl doesn't wait for very long. "Don't feel like talking? That's okay! Here, you must be hungry." She slides a bowl of soup across the table, and it stops right beside me.

The soup is red. Smells exactly like...

Like Hilda's food.

"We found an old recipe in one of the kitchen cabinets, behind a fake wall. Tastes really good, you should try it," Prissy Four-Eyes says, smiling all the while.

My eyes widen. "That's..." _Hilda's secret stash._

She hid a whole bunch of things behind that secret wall. One time, I found her trying to hide something in there. It was the soup's recipe. "Shh...Don't tell anyone about this. It'll be our secret, 'kay?" After she...

Well, y'know.

After _that_, I never even touched the cabinets. It felt too..._intrusive_. Disrespectful.

But these children...They...They...

_Breathe. Calm down._

Hilda...

_What would Lucas say if you actually _did_ kill one of these children?_

Think about the knife. How it cuts through your skin. How it would cut through her skin. The anger ebbing away as her blood leaks out, trickling down and dripping onto the floor.

I glance at the cabinets. Hilda's cabinet is bleeding, crying tears of blood over its violation. Now that I know what she did, I see Prissy Four-Eyes's hands are covered in blood. Hilda's blood.

_It's just the medicine. Wait a few minutes and it will all go away._

I set the bowl down, careful not to burn the tips of my fingers. "But you should try it," Prissy Four-Eyes insists. "It helps with your fever."

All I see is red. And then the knife flies out of my hand before I can think, and I hear her screaming. It doesn't help. It makes me feel worse.

I hurt another child. Again.

**{No one's POV}**

Gilda smiles at the man, trying her best to be sympathetic. After all, the man has a fever and is suffering from some kind of mental illness. But he was making it rather difficult with the way he glared at her. He acts as if she had destroyed this shelter or something.

Gilda blinks, and then there's a knife in her leg. It takes her a few moments to process what just happened. And then she screams.

Her leg burns in agony, and she watches her blood drain out in horror. Everyone around her is screaming. And all Gilda can do is scream with them.

She faints soon after.

Nobody had ever expected that the man would actually be capable of stabbing someone. By the time anyone had seen the blade flying, Gilda had already been stabbed. Nobody knows what to do now, so everyone flips out and screams.

Anna breathes in and out a few times, calming herself down, before shouting above the noise. "Everyone, help me carry Gilda to the infirmary!"

Within a minute, Gilda was laying down where the man used to be, ropes cut loose. The knife was still in her thigh, and the blood was practically spurting out. Pulling on some gloves, Anna orders everyone else to do something to help. "Don, get me bandages and saline solution if possible. Ray, boil at least a liter of water in case there isn't any saline solution. Emma, hold up Gilda's wounded leg."

With that, everyone scurried about with only one purpose: saving Gilda. In the midst of the chaos and treating Gilda's wound, nobody ever noticed that the man was mysteriously missing. Well, nobody except Emma.

Right as Don finishes fetching Anna the items she needed, Emma calls him over and tells him to hold up Gilda's leg. Don asks, "Why do I need to?" while grabbing Gilda's leg.

"I need to check up on something," is Emma's response. She leaves with nobody except Don to wonder where she had gone to. Even then, Don immediately forgets about Emma's absence when Gilda's condition starts to become unstable.

Emma searches the shelter, but after she's finished with all of the rooms she has been in, she can't find Mister anywhere. So she decides to enter the rooms that have been left alone. There she finds belongings to people that were surely the man's comrades.

She also notices that a fine layer of dust covers each and every possession in all the new rooms, and the doors's hinges have rusted. They have been left untouched. Mister has been respectful to their belongings and left them undisturbed. It warms her heart to see that the man really had cared. It hurt too much to enter their rooms even after all those years.

He acts like he doesn't care, yet everything else suggests that he does. That makes Emma happy. To her, he's a nice guy inside. Just being all alone made him grumpy, and now he's done things that he wouldn't have if he still had his friends.

But she still has to find Mister. He might be all alone cutting himself or worse. Emma decides against calling out for him. It might make him want to hide instead of come out, and Emma doesn't want that. She wants to find him, not make him hide.

She checked two more rooms before she gave up on entering the rooms. Emma notices, as she's walking away, that she's now covered with dust. She wiped off as much as she could, which was quite a lot, and then continues down the hallway once more, simply knocking on the doors before leaving.

She hears the sound as she walks down the corridors. She was on the verge on giving up, something that she would have never done if Gilda hadn't been stabbed. However, she hears the sound coming from her left, where one of the doors had been left ajar.

It was the sound of someone crying. She can even tell who was crying. It'll haunt her dreams for weeks to come after she heard it once.

Mister was crying. And he was alone.

Emma slowly creeps up on the door, peeking through the sliver that she can see into the room. It's dark inside, but she can hear Mister sobbing, so she pushes on the door. The hinges had been oiled, so it doesn't make a sound. Now she can see the entire room, and Emma wishes that she had never heard his sobs.

Words had been written in something dark red, almost black, in color. By the metallic smell, she can only guess that it had been written in blood. The words repeated over and over. "Help me." "Stay with me." "Don't leave." The newer writings had been written, thankfully, in charcoal. It read, "They're gone!" over and over again. By the bed, names had been engraved into the wall, one of which Emma recalls from earlier. Lucas.

Mister was facing the wall, sitting on the bed, crying and muttering apologies. He's cutting into into his arms again, using his blood to write, "I'm sorry," right next to the name Hilda. "Mister?" Emma calls out, catching his attention.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

It's so lonely without them. I always hated being outside because they wouldn't follow me outside, but I loved the freedom of forgetting the pain, if just for a brief moment. Sometimes I just wish I was strong enough to join them. That I could kill myself for them just as easily as they did for me.

But that's too much to wish for, obviously.

After I had thrown the knife at Prissy Four-Eyes's thigh, I entered my sanctuary. The children have never explored over here, that much I could tell. The dust remained undisturbed when I passed by it.

In my safe place, I cry. I cry for Hilda because I didn't keep her sanctuary safe. Her safe space was violated, and I had done nothing to stop it from happening. I didn't keep her secret.

_Bastard._

The medicine has worn off. I feel more...normal. I don't feel as angry anymore. The medicine always does this _after_ it wears off. I'm sorry, Prissy Four-Eyes. I hope I didn't stab you in the chest. I hope you live.

_Unlike my group._

The knife slides through my skin effortlessly. I use my blood to write my apology to Hilda. A way to repay her for breaking my promise and causing her to bleed. An eye for an eye, as they always say.

"Mister?" I whirl around, and sure enough, Antenna Girl stands in my doorway, staring at my scribbles. My vision turns red. This is my sanctuary, the last place I feel comfortable in, and Antenna Girl had to ruin it! All the children do!

"Get out," I growl. My fingers twitch. The urge to strangle this girl has never been so strong.

But I won't break another promise. I won't kill another child.

Lucas deserves at least that much.

"Mister, I'm sorry." What irritates me is that she is genuinely sorry. Her emerald eyes water, and she bites her lip in thought. "Your comrades all died, and you were left alone to live here, where your comrades used to live in. And you were left alone for a long time." Stop. Don't applogize.

"Then we come in and we tear the place apart. You probably felt... abused. Stepped over. Ignored. That you were being rejected in the very place that you call home, and that your opinions meant nothing." She starts to cry. "And all I thought about was how bad of a person you are! How selfish you are! But I never thought that you might be feeling hurt because we moved in!"

Stop! Stop trying to understand! It'll make me feel less lonely. You'll end up getting closer to me.

_And closer to death._

Antenna Girl clings to my chest and begins to sob. It hurt already to feel those things, but it's worse when someone says it out loud. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not treating you correctly," she wails. "I'm sorry that we didn't respect you when you suffered so much more than us!"

_Why does my throat hurt so much?_

Wiping her eyes, Antenna Girl pulls away with a meek apology. It's too similar to Lucas. When he found me in that room, his face was the same as Antenna Girl's. When...

_Don't. Please. Don't remind me of him. Don't remind me of that time._

Calm down. She isn't one of my friends. She isn't Lucas. Lucas has left. She stayed.

"To make it up to you, I want to make a deal with you." _Of course. There's always something the other person wants._ "If you bring me and Ray to Goldy Pond safely, then I—no, we shall leave. We will leave this shelter and come back to bother you again."

Her tone of voice was all I needed to know that she was dead serious. She's risking all of her friends's lives on a deal that I could break at any moment. I can just say no and figure out some other way to kick them out.

But this may be my only chance to make this kind of deal with these kids. They would leave willingly, and I wouldn't have to use force to convince them to leave. Or death.

So I agree. We shake hands on it, and she unexpectedly hugs me. It's over quick and she's gone before I can blink.

I think nothing of it. It's nothing. Emma wouldn't lie to me. She's too honest to do that.

Right?

**{No one's POV}**

With Gilda, her wound is still being cleaned out and sewn shut. Everyone holds their breath, but it seems Gilda is going to be fine for now, so they can breathe just a bit easier. The younger kids, at least. Ray, Don, and Anna notice that Emma is missing, along with the man. It does not bode well with them.

"What could be taking Emma so long?" Don mutters, checking the clock every few seconds in his impatience. Ray doesn't hear them, and they don't say anything more. They can only wait for Emma to come back.

To their relief, Emma doesn't take too long to return after Don asked that question. She's unharmed, too. Everything looks fine.

Then they notice Emma's pale face, how her knuckles turn white from gripping a book too hard, and how the book in her hands looks nothing like any other book Ray has ever seen. Judging by the way she looks at it, Ray sees that whatever was in that book made Emma like that. Something is wrong.

"What is it?" Ray asks. Emma grabs both his and Don's arms, dragging them both to the archives. None of the children come here, which meant that it was the perfect place to talk about things they didn't wish for the children to hear. For Emma to drag them into the archives to talk...

It must be serious.

Emma drops the book in front of Ray and Don, her eyes holding a haunted look to them. "Read this," is all she says to them.

Dreading the words written on the page, Ray opens the book for the two of them, and they can immediately tell that this book was a diary.

And written in that diary was the man's descent into insanity.

**Okay. That's enough for now. See you all later. Hopefully you actually enjoyed what you read. If not...**

**Well, it was meant for me. You reading it just happened. See ya!**


	5. Leaving

**Let's just start the story.**

**{Yuugo's POV}**

The moment I open my eyes, I know that something's off. Ever since Emma left, there had been a nagging feeling in my stomach. I hoped it would go away, but it hasn't.

Other than that, I feel more calm than I ever had over the course of those thirteen years. From escaping the plantation to getting caught by poachers to being the only survivor left, I had always been on edge. Always hanging on the brink of complete insanity.

The walls have stopped bleeding. My head is clearer than it ever had been before. I feel... at peace.

It feels nice.

I sit up, looking around my room. The words of a madman cover every inch of these walls, and it will stay there until I can clean it off.

_But you can't. Don't forget the pain._

Now I can think. Now I can breathe. I will find Lucas, John, Hilda, Anny, and everyone else...

Right after I make these kids leave.

The hallways are void of any conversations as I walk past. By the faint vibrations in the floor and the sound of water rushing through the pipes, the children must be taking baths. All of a sudden, I wish I could be part of their family. They're so happy together...

_And you'd ruin it for them._

It hurts. It hurts to know that I can never be part of a new family. I'm too broken for that. Nobody wants someone broken. Nobody wants me.

Not even death.

I sigh. It's almost time for the next stage to begin. Better find some quiet place where these kids will never find me before I commit suicide.

Funny. My throat tightens and my eyes water at the thought of leaving these kids. Or perhaps there's just some dust in the air. It can do that to me.

Wait... Dust? There shouldn't be any dust in here. I've cleaned the walls this month, and there shouldn't be enough to do this to me yet. Unless...

Unless someone had entered their rooms.

The thought of trespassing one of their rooms still sickens me even when I'm sane. It's their sanctuary, their safe space. They've never intruded into my space. Why should I intrude into theirs?

But I inhale once more and cough hard as dust invades my lungs. Someone _had_ to have entered their rooms. But who?

_Antenna Girl._

No, she's the nicest one. She's too brutally honest. She would never...Would she?

_If she got curious..._

No, better not think about that for now. She wouldn't have done it. It might have been Cyclops or Bean Head, or any other curious child, but it wouldn't have been her...Right? Though, if someone had entered their rooms and got covered in dust, what would they do first after getting away?

Go to the showers and wash the dust off. It would be even better if everyone was doing it at the same time as you, so it wouldn't be suspicious and obvious. Question is, who did it, and into which room did they go into?

I check the hinges of Dina's room. The rusty hinges have not moved since I got back here all alone. Same for John's, and Anny's. Walter's room has also been left untouched.

But when I get to Lucas's room, the first thing I notice is that whoever entered his room hadn't closed the door completely. It has always been like that. Lucas had to shove the door to shut it every time he went to breakfast, and had to pull the handle almost to the point of breaking the door to get it open. But I didn't have the courage to close it all the way for him before having the urge to throw up.

I had left it open, so it shouldn't have raised any red flags. However, it was noticeably more open than when I had left it all those years ago. Well, for me. They probably didn't think twice about it, the sneaky little bastard.

I'm getting too angry again. Calm down. It'll be alright. All you have to do is bring them to Goldy Pond, maybe let a poacher loose to show them how terrifying they can be before forcing them to leave. Calm down.

Breathe.

Erica's room had also been opened, as well as Nicolas's. Those were the only ones. At least they didn't open Hilda's room again.

Though it would have been less painful than Lucas's room. He kept me from dying every day. He's the reason why I haven't killed everyone in this shelter. He trusted me with his belongings.

A sea of regret washes over me, pulling me down into its deep waters. I can't breathe. Clawing at my throat, for something is blocking my windpipe. I need to breathe.

_You shouldn't have escaped. __You should have suffered more. __You should have been the one to die._

Why did I survive? I was weak. I still am weak. No coward deserves to live longer than their courageous peers.

Where's the knife? I need to release my thoughts.

Patting down my pockets, I find no knife. Panic crawls around in my gut. Where'd I put it? I swear I had it with me.

My skin begins to bubble up with all the thoughts swirling around underneath. The blisters all pop, each painful in its own right, until the thoughts dance around my head, free to taunt me however they see fit.

Again, I see John's arm lying there, in the dirt. I'm scared. I don't want to look up.

But I do. And I watch John get swallowed whole. _**He**_ swallows with some blood trickling down between his teeth. And I want so badly to join John.

I don't want to be alone again.

_Why aren't you joining him? Go on, pick the knife up._

And it appears in thin air. A pocket knife, reflecting the covered sun's light. My pocket knife.

It's so cold that I'm sure my fingers have frostbite after just a light touch. The cold burns. It reminds me of _**his**_ place.

_Go ahead. Who said joining the dead was easy?_

So I pick it up again. Everything blurs when I hold the knife. Shades of red and green and creamy white blend together to form a blurry figure. A figure that I know.

Antenna Girl?

Then I blink again. She's been decapitated, her head cast to the side by him. My legs shake with the effort of standing still next to him. All of the air leaves me every time I see _**him**_.

_"When will you learn?" _**he**_ says. "When will you learn that the one thing you'll always be deprived of is a family? __Stop trying to achieve something that isn't possible."_

Clanging brings me back. Sweaty clothing clings to my skin, and I'm shaking so badly that it's a wonder I don't fall over. But there's no more John, no more Antenna Girl. No more corpses.

Just don't get too close. They'll live.

_They'll try to save you. You don't need saving._

I need to get out of here. I'll go mad listening to my own voice.

_You've already done that._

The forest. It always calms me down. I need to go there. Become invisible again, just for a moment.

_But _**he**_ might be there._

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up.

Where are you, Lucas? I need you. Being all alone, with no one able to understand...

Just please come back.

**{No one's POV}**

Ray, Don, and Emma go through the motions, oblivious as to what they're actually doing. They've taken so many showers that it's second nature now, leaving them with time to think about what they had read the other day.

As they wash the dishes, Emma's so lost in thought that she drops a huge metal bowl and it crashes to the ground, jolting them out of their stupor. They truly look at each other for the first time that day, none of them wishing to be the first to speak. But they know that they have to talk about it sooner or later. Now is the perfect time.

"I-I saw his room the other day," Emma starts. "I've been meaning to tell you what I read, but... He's so alone and scared, isn't he? He just..."

She trails off, and neither Don nor Ray are willing to pick back up on it. There's no need for words when they're all thinking the same thing.

The doors swing open with a creak, a haunting sort of moan that sends chills down your back and a shiver into your very bones. And behind those doors is Mister, barely managing to stand. His eyes dart everywhere, and his hand clutches a knife hard enough to make his knuckles white. "We're leaving, now." With a glare, he leaves.

"What? You guys are leaving already?" Deprived of any time to talk, Ray and Emma dash out the doors and almost run into one of the small children.

Every child is helping to grab things to pack. Some are hunting for food that they can eat, others for clothes, and more for jugs to store water in. In the middle of it all is Gilda and Anna. Though Gilda's tired and clinging onto crutches for survival, she still somehow finds the energy to help them pack. Even if it is only through words and orders.

Emma's eye twitches at the sight of the amount of food being packed. "Gilda, Anna, we don't need that much food."

Gilda gives Emma that look. "Don't be an idiot! What if you can't find food to eat while you're out there?!" she fusses. Anna nods, crossing her arms as well. "The food stays."

Ray and Emma both hesitate to go outside even after they'd finished packing. With no weapons besides Musica's bow and relying on a man gone crazy, it was very likely things would go south fast. "There has to be a weaponry room somewhere," Ray says at last.

"There has to be, but I haven't seen anything like that anywhere in this shelter. And we leave in a few minutes." Here Emma looks over at Mister, who is leaving the room. "But he has no weapons, either. Only a knife, which won't do much against more than one demon."

"So either killing them is easy enough with only a knife..."

"Or he's going to the weaponry right now to get another weapon." With that thought in mind, Ray and Emma followed Mister through the halls.

Mister turns a corner, and Ray and Ema follow with no pause in their step. On the other side, they're greeted with a knife pointed at their throats. "Why are you following me?" His eyes were unfocused, in another world entirely, yet his question was directed at them.

"We just want to be able to fend for ourselves. With weapons," Emma adds, making herself smaller and meak in the hopes that it'll calm Mister down.

And it does. Mister relaxes, lowering the knife. "Ya could've just asked," he mutters, still a bit out of it.

Both Ray and Emma glance at each other. "Of course. We didn't mean to scare you," Ray says.

"Right." Mister takes one more look at Emma, one that makes her and Ray's skin crawl, before walking away. "Well, I'm not going to help ya. If ya can't keep up, find food, or stay alive, then you don't deserve my experience and guidance."

With that, he stabs the piano with his knife and opens a secret door.

After a moment of surprise, Mister, Ray, and Emma all enter the weapon room. His hand stops shaking the moment he picks up a gun. Mister becomes an entirely different person. "Okay, go ahead and pick any weapon ya want. Just be quick about it."

Without another word, he climbs up the ladder and leaves. Ray and Emma are left alone in the weapon room. Emma walks around, attempting to hold a cannon. "It's so heavy!" The cannon falls to the floor, barely missing her feet.

"Whew!" Wiping away some sweat, Emma pants and laughs at her big mistake. "That's way too heavy to run with. I'd die within the first minute!"

Ray rolls his eyes at Emma and continues to closely examine every weapon on a table. He stops at a pistol. Quickly enough, he picks it up as well as extra ammo for the rifle he's going to take.

"I'll just take this small knife," Emma finally decides, pocketing said item. "I already have Musica's bow, which is light enough for me to run with. And I can make new arrows using this knife!" She turns to Ray. "What did you pick out?"

He shows off his pistol and rifle to Emma. "Wow!" Her eyes sparkle with delight. "That's so cool!"

Ray holsters his new gun. "Are you done?" Emma nods. "Then we should get going. That man's probably not going to wait for very long, and we wasted enough time as it is."

Sure enough, Mister was waiting by the door impatiently tapping his foot when they arrive. "Took you long enough," Mister grumbles, opening the shelter door for them to leave. All of the children are crying, telling Emma and Ray to be safe before allowing them to leave. "Be safe, Emma, Ray!" all the children cry out, waving as the three take their leave. The door shuts behind Emma and Ray, cutting off the children's voices.

**Sorry, I had to cut this off because it was becoming way too long. Anyways, the next chapter should be coming out soon. And I don't know why I'm apologizing since almost no one is reading this, but I am, so that's new.**

**And that's it for this chapter.**


	6. First Day Outside

**Starting the chapter now, for whoever is reading this.**

The moment Emma and Ray are outside, Mister sprints towards the forest, leaving them behind in the barren wasteland.

"Whaa!" Both children pant as they try to keep up with Mister's insane speed, but they're far behind and struggling to gain some distance. He laughs at their attempts and, to tease them further, speeds up just enough that they'll tire themselves out trying to catch up to him, but not enough to lose sight of him.

"He's so fast!" Emma complains, watching Mister taunt them with his speed. She leaps over a small rock that reaches up to her knees in height, almost tripping when the tip of her shoe hits the top of the rock.

Ray narrows his eyes, keeping the sun out of his eyes just to see Mister speed up a bit more. "Adults are just on another level," he reasons.

"But not even Mama and Sister Krone were that fast! And he's lugging that huge gun around, too!" Ray can't find anything to argue against that.

"Kids really suck at this!" the man laughs, practically running backwards to chuckle at how slow and clumsy the children were. "God, was I that slow?" He mulls over it, shrugging when he supposedly gave up. "Who knows by this point?" Then he turns around, leaping onto a huge rock at the last second to run along the top, never slowing down.

"He's acting completely different from his shelter self, though," Emma hums, puzzled by the man's behavior.

"Like a spoiled child," Ray mutters, slowing down a bit despite himself. _We have to keep going! Run faster!_ he thinks, panting as the sun's heat burns his back.

"Come on, hurry up! We don't got all day!" the man yells, turning his head to look at the two for a moment before facing forward again. "We need to cross this piece of land as fast as we possibly can, so get your lazy asses moving already!"

"Why?!" Emma has to shout for the man to hear.

"While there isn't anything dangerous here, there won't be another place that _**they'll**_ avoid! And I don't feel like being stuck here for longer than I have to! No sunburns for me!" With that, the man speeds up, leaving the children further behind in the dust.

"W-Wait up!" All Ray and Emma can do is run and hope the man doesn't leave them behind in the dust for too long. Hope that he'll keep his word.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

The moment I feel the sun warm up my skin, my heart begins to soar once more. All I can think about is the wind, the ground beneath my feet, and the cloudless sky looming over me with its comforting blue color. Then, I start to run.

And oh, how wonderful it is to run out here! Out here, there is nothing but me and the outside. The outside that I had dreamed of seeing as a small child. That I managed to hold onto.

It's just like how I remembered when I was a teen. By myself. With nobody to drag me down or to care about what I did. I could break an ankle out here and nobody would care.

It's freedom such as this that lets me fall asleep at night.

It's broken immediately by the children crying out when I jog towards the forest. I try to clutch the feelings tight, to last a bit longer for me to enjoy. The kids ruin everything!

But what did they ruin? A few memories of your dead friends. That's nothing compared to what _they_ had to go through.

(Note the heavy sarcasm in that paragraph.)

Which was only escaping Grace Field and having to survive in the forest for a week. Oh, that's _so_ difficult! Poor children, having to go through _so_ much.

Calm down. Don't kill them (yet). Let this hell swallow them up and chew them out, then kick them out of my shelter and let them die on their own. It's not my problem after I deliver them to Goldy Pond.

Out here, Lucas won't be able to see a thing. He never followed me out before. He won't now.

I can let them die.

_Why just _let_ them die? Why not make sure they will?_

Oh god. We have to get to the forest pretty soon, or there's no telling what'd I do.

Just focus on the now. Focus on the wind, on speed, on staying alive out here.

It's so much easier to forget the regret outside.

I turn around, easily managing to avoid tripping or slowing down, and watch the kids struggle to keep up. Have to admit that they are doing rather fine so far for children. They may be slow, but they can keep up for now.

"Kids really suck at this!" I laugh, pushing down the thoughts of my teenage self.

_Hardly older than a child, just as naive._

Though they have impressed me a bit, they can't speed up to save their lives. Are kids always this slow? "God, was I that slow?" I ask myself, shuddering at the thought of being slower than I am now.

_You weren't exactly fast enough before, were you?_

It's easy to pretend like the voice doesn't exist. I shrug, brushing off the stabbing pain in my chest while still maintaining my nonchalant look. "Who knows by this point?"

_All your friends._

What friends? I've always lived by myself. Out here, I'm always by myself. Always have been, always will be. After these children leave.

Almost to the point of bursting with unreleased excitement at being outside, I twist around without missing a beat and gain speed, leaving them behind in the dust. No walls, no chains, no _**him**_. No voice.

Just me and the children. The slower-than-snails children.

"Come on, hurry up! We don't got all day!" A quick peek behind me reveals that they did speed up at least a bit while I was looking away. At least they aren't completely useless. "We need to cross this piece of land as soon as possible, so get your lazy asses moving already!"

Use words, not the knife. Words are better than knives. They may not break bones, but they can stab core ideals way better than knives.

"Why?!" Breathe in. Out. Not yet. Dina is still staring at me. Can't do it yet.

No, she's not there. I blink and she's gone. She was never there to begin with.

"While there isn't anything dangerous here, there won't be another place that _**they'll**_ avoid! And I don't feel like being stuck here for longer than I have to! No sunrburns for me!" Staying out here will attract attention. The wrong kind of attention.

But they don't need to know about _**them**_, do they?

...Nah, they'll be fine. These kids will be dead before they meet _**him**_ anyways.

_Might as well end it sooner rather than later._

No. I need to make it up to Lucas. He needs to know that I'm better now. That I won't kill anyone like that ever again in the shelter.

Let them live a little longer. Just long enough for us to get our place back. Don't worry, Lucas. I'll bring you back again.

I speed up, forcing the children to speed up with me. Some training for future reference. Building up speed for them while they still can run.

_Admit it. You just want to torture them. __Guess _**he**_ isn't all that different from you, after all._

No. I'm different. I don't kill.

_You do._

I don't hurt without a reason.

_Other than entertainment._

I'm not _**him**_!

The voice is silent.

I can breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, it's gone quiet. Now I can actually hear myself think. Something has gone right for once.

It stays silent for the rest of the way through the wasteland.

{**No one's POV}**

Emma and Ray were out of breath, sweaty, thirsty, and exhausted when the small group made it to the edge of the forest, heading straight for the chilling shade of the trees. It was rather difficult for Emma in particular to start moving again, since she got the worst of the heat, but soon enough the trio silently stalked the forest floor, looking all over for demons that may see them.

Emma and Ray are silent as they tip-toe behind Mister, watching every move he makes, when and where he makes them. They learn fast how to stay silent in the forest, keeping an eye on the floor to watch where they're going. They learn that they need to huddle close to each other to keep their warmth in the unnaturally cold shade. Mister seems relaxed, in his own world, but Emma and Ray can't read him very well, which is somewhat of a shock to them. Even Mama wasn't as unreadable as this guy.

He's a closed, unpredictable book to them.

"Do you think he might kill us?" Ray asks Emma. Something about the man screams killer, but he wants to know how Emma feels about this man, this man that lost all of his comrades. His family.

"No, I don't think so." And Emma truly didn't. As she tiptoed through the forest, she saw the man look over at the wildlife, step around the critters on the ground and just respect the wildlife here in general. Not to mention that he agreed to make this deal with them, when he could have very well said no and kicked them all out anyways. He doesn't want to kill them. That she knows. "He doesn't want to kill us, but if we make it too difficult and leave him no other choice, then he will. We just have to stay on his good side."

Ray, however, doesn't see the man the same way she does. He sees him as someone dangerous that turns on a dime. "But how would we stay on his good side? He might not even have one for us."

Emma gasped. "..." She stays silent and moves ahead of him, angered by how cautious Ray is being. She'll show him. Mister is nice, that she's sure of. His head and his heart are just lost and conflicted. That's all.

Suddenly, a chill ran up Emma's spine, one that freezes your insides and locks your joints in place. When Emma stops moving, Ray stops as well. "Emma, what's wrong?" he asks. Mister pauses for just a moment to pull his large gun out.

Emma manages to mutter, "Can't you feel it?" before her eyes widen. The demon grins as it falls to the floor, descending onto Emma with a roar.

Ray dives for Emma without hesitation, managing to get them both away from its gaping jaws of sharp teeth. The children roll along the ground as the demon slams into the ground, with it correcting itself right when the children come to a stop. Ray scrambles onto his feet with Emma, both paling as the ground rumbles under their feet.

Grasping her bow tightly, Emma grits her teeth as she whirls around to come face-to-face with the demon, jaws wide open to rip her head off. Within a moment, her blood'll spill all over the forest floor as the demon violently chomps down on her neck, decapitating her. Ray's running towards her, trying to save her, but she'll be dead by then. Nothing would stop that thing from eating her. Before the demon can kill her, Emma's knees give. Her entire body shakes as she falls to the floor, waiting for her head to start rolling.

Then a bang resounded through the air. The demon falls to the floor, with a bullet in the head. Ray sits beside Emma, not knowing what had just happened, and Mister is blowing away the dust that puffed out of the gun. "Fuck, it's been too long since I cleaned this gun," he cursed, coughing violently as he inhaled the dust.

As if shaken out of a stupor, Emma blinks and says, "I-I'm alive?" Nothing had ever scared her more than this. Not even the thought of Norman getting eaten by the demons. Seeing a demon that close to her, ready to eat her... It made her heart skip a beat.

Finally, the notion that she was alive and safe sunk in, and Emma tightly hugs a stupefied Ray. "Thought you were dead, didn't ya?" Mister sways on his feet, glaring down at the demon with a disgusted look on his face. A smirk breaks out on his face soon after.

"Couldn't even pull the trigger in time. You died for real right there, Antenna Girl." Emma, paler than a ghost, can't even think past the fact that she was closer to dying than ever before. If Mister hadn't been there, she'd have died.

"Though it was kinda funny. Ya never seen a man-eater come from above? Loads of 'em do it in this area." Mister snorts as Ray curses out loud. "Hey, I didn't say that I would help ya, remember?"

Ray grits his teeth, preparing a retort. "I said," Mister continues, "that if ya couldn't stay alive and survive on your own, then you don't deserve my help. You didn't exactly meet the criteria there."

"Th-Thanks, Mister," Emma interrupts. She smiles with teary eyes, wholly grateful to Mister. "You saved me. Thank you!"

Mister just stares at Emma unnervingly before looking away as fast as he could. "You shouldn't say that," is what he ominously responds with, clenching his gun tighter.

Emma sits there, confused and hurt that she was blown off without a second thought. "Why? You saved me."

"I didn't save anyone. All I did was give you chumps another chance." A guttural sound bounces off the stone trees as the demon rises to its full height. Emma and Ray feel their hearts sink as the demon opens its mouth once more. Though, they are confused when all the demon does is make a bunch of clicking noises and throaty growls.

"Oh, the man-eater called the others," Mister adds offhandedly. "You better run along now, before they get here."

Ray feels like pulling his hair out as the trees groaned with the weight of multiple demons. Soon enough, their faces poke out of the canopy, drool dropping onto the forest floor as they climb down. "Damn you! Why didn't you say anything about this before?! And why'd you never say anything about that demon being alive?!" he yells, no longer keeping his voice down as there is no point anymore. The demons already know where they are.

"I didn't kill it on purpose and didn't say anything because I'm giving you another chance to prove yourselves to me," is Mister's response. "Think of it as taking pity on you. Though ya might not live, since they're even more angry than if I just let it call the pack... Alright, I'll save ya if the other is incapacitated, but that means no more Goldy Pond and you still have to leave my shelter. So, just try to stay alive." Then Mister rapidly and gracefully climbs up a paralyzed tree without the demons noticing him and looks down at the rest of the forest, whistling in awe. "Oh, what a sight! No wonder these man-eaters love staying up in these trees, the view is beautiful!"

"Shut up, you bastard!" Ray yells back as he struggles to climb a tree. A demon's chasing him up the tree while the other demons chase after Emma. She's trying to climb a tree as well, but she can't even reach the tree before a demon is already there, roaring at her.

Ray finally manages to reach a branch, and immediately shoots at the demon's hands, shredding the flesh with his bullets. The demon falls to the dew-covered forest floor, but it gets up and attempts to climb again. Another demon decides to join it and climbs much faster, heading towards Ray before he could even blink. "Ray!" He glances down at the floor to see Emma shooting arrows at the large horde of demons snapping at her as she ran.

She was going to run out of stamina soon, and Mister isn't on his branch anymore. He's nowhere to be found, but Ray knows that he's nearby, watching them struggle. Every bullet that he shoots doesn't phase the two demons after him anymore, and he's having trouble just dealing with the two of them. _They're practically on top of us! We need to buy some time to escape, but how?_

One of the demons almost chomps off his leg while he was thinking, and Ray keeps his focus on the demons. _They regenerate so fast, and they never falter. They're practically immortal!_

_Wait, not immortal,_ Ray thinks as he recalls that Mister had said. _He said that he didn't kill it on purpose, so that means there is a way to kill it with the weapons that he has._ For a moment, Ray pauses his thoughts to leap onto another branch and shoot a demon in the head. The demon just leaps after him, roaring with fury.

_Wait. _That_ one, the ones that those demons had killed when we had just escaped, was dead enough. And didn't humans kill demons a thousand years ago, with technology of that time?_ Suddenly, a clawed hand slashes at the branch right in front of him, forcing him to switch directions and jump onto another branch.

_Too close._ Then Emma leaps right in front of him on a branch, her hair a mess and covered with dirt. "Follow me!" she yells, and Ray follows, barely dodging razor sharp claws. "Quick, use that gun you have!"

So Ray turns around after loading a green bullet and shoots right at the horde of demons. A strong, large net holds them all back, allowing Emma and Ray to add some distance between them and the demons. "Yes, we did it!" Emma cheers.

But the two of them do not celebrate for long, for the demons dig into one of their comrades to loosen the net, leaving its remains on the branch. Then they slash through the thick ropes easily and pursue the small kids again. "What do we do now, Emma?" Both of them look at each other, reading the other's expression. None of them know what to do now.

_Think! Think!_ The demons close the gap faster than either child had expected. Already Emma can feel their breath hot on her neck.

_I've seen it before! How? By decapitation? No, he couldn't decapitate it with his gear, and yet he can still kill it. So how...?_

One of the demons manages to grab Emma by slamming her into the branch. "Fuck!" Ray curses, turning around with terror buried in his gut. This time, she would die for real. "Ray! Shoot it in the middle eye!" she screams. Ray hopes that it'll work as he aims for the demon's eye. He shoots, and the demon falls off the branch with a screech and lands on the forest floor with a dull thump.

It doesn't get back up.

"It worked!" he cried, almost hugging Emma if it wasn't for the remaining demons. Another demon just replaced it, reaching for Emma again, but she releases an arrow and it buries itself in the demons head. "Emma, just keep going forward! Since he talked about different tribes, if we enter another tribe's territory, they'll fight and let us escape!"

So they both run away and shoot, scarring the demons as they flee. They use up a lot of ammo and arrows before the demons finally give up. There is no fight between demons like Ray had predicted, but it's all right with them. They managed to survive. "We... actually survived..." Ray panted, trembling violently. Emma is no better.

"Let's just go," Emma whispers, too scared to speak any louder. "I don't want to be here anymore."

"Yeah. The man can catch up to us later," Ray agrees. Both of them take it slow as they walk in the direction of Goldy Pond. Or so they hope. They didn't know.

Soon after, Mister appears out of nowhere on a branch, sitting with a finished meal in front of him. "There you are. You actually managed to survive," Mister says. "Kinda thought Antenna Girl would die and almost stepped in, but ya figured out how to kill the man-eaters. Congrats."

Ray sits down, too deep in thought to even curse at the man. _Barely. If Emma hadn't figured it out, I might've lost her. Our entire family would be in danger now because I wouldn't have been able to save her. We'd surely lose a few if not all of our family._

"Ray, I'm back!" Ray is shocked that he never noticed that Emma had left. Her face is flushed from running, and she's holding a bunch of plants that seem edible enough. "They seemed edible enough at first, but Mister told me that they're poisonous. I want to keep them, just in case, but I couldn't find any other plants or catch any lizards, so... We don't have a meal today." She scratches the back of her head sheepishly.

"I never said that they were poisonous. I said that they'd give you severe diarrhea if ya just ate them, and I don't feel like guiding someone who has to stop every few minutes to take a shit. Which is the only reason I told ya about it in the first place." Ray never even noticed that Mister was behind Emma the entire time until he steps out from behind her. He lays out a few furry animals and begins to slice into their corpses."Hey, Emma! Just cook using the food in our bag," Ray orders, throwing her bag over to Emma.

"Yes, sir!" As Emma begins to put some veggies, seasoning and water in a small pot Anna had packed for them, Ray pulled out some kindle and wood that had also been packed for them. "Thank you, everyone," he whispers as he begins to light it on fire.

"Woah!" Mister grabs the wood out of Ray's hand before he can blink. "You don't want to do it up here, Cyclops!" he says. "_**They'll**_ see it. We should do it on the ground. It's easier to hide a fire that way." Mister starts to climb down but stops long enough to say, "By the way, you want dryer wood and nothing green next time," before climbing down all the way.

Emma walks over with a pot, ready to cook, but notices that there isn't a fire. "Where's the wood? How am I supposed to cook?" she asks. Ray points down to the ground, and Emma leans over the branch to see Mister on the ground digging a hole. "What is he doing?" She squints, as if that would help her see better.

"Making a fire. Probably digging it in the ground to hide the fire and the smoke better. Not to mention that the foliage above us will also keep whatever smoke that is produced hidden from most demons." _Nice thinking,_ Ray thinks.

_Wow, that's pretty smart,_ Emma thinks. "Wait, isn't being on the ground more deadly than in the trees?" she thinks out loud. "In the trees, less demons can reach us. But on the ground, all types of demons can not only reach us but can sneak up on us from every direction as well. And the wildlife on the forest floor might be dangerous, too."

"All of that would be true if we were with any other person in any other forest. But this man has experience in this forest, probably has also slept out here as well, by the looks of it. So the dangers are either non-existent or easy to deal with and prevent. He knows what he is doing," Ray reassures her.

_I still feel as though we should stay in the trees. But if both Ray and Mister are going to the ground, then there must be a good reason why._ "Okay." With that, Emma and Ray both climb down to meet up with Mister.

"Finally came down," he grumbles once their feet touch the ground, setting up some dry wood from his pack in the fire pit. "Thought you weren't ever going to come down." He shrugs off his bag and coat, sticking his hand in there to find something. "Where the fuck is it?" he growls.

Even though she knows Ray is right, Emma can't help but feel more vulnerable on the ground. "Mister?" He hums in acknowledgement. "Why are we on the ground? Isn't it easier for demons to sneak up on us and see us on the ground instead of in the trees?"

"Of course not." That's all he says as he pulls out a lighter at last. He lights up just a few pieces of wood in the pit and waits by the fire pit for a few seconds longer. "Okay, the fire's started. Go ahead and cook whatever you want on it." He moves over to the meat and starts slicing it once again.

Emma starts to cook a meal while Ray checks their supplies and frowns when he finds that they've already used half of their ammo. And they've still got the rest of today and three days afterwards to get to Goldy Pond. And Emma's used up almost all of her arrows. Being kind and generous (and also smart), Ray pulls out his knife and some wood to make some more arrows for Emma. She will need it later.

As the meal cooks, Mister heads to the base of a tree and relaxes against its roots, sighing in comfort. He just seems too comfy to Ray in this forest, where there could be demons at every turn, and it bothers him deeply. "What wrong?" Emma asks, knowing that something's bothering Ray by one glance at his face.

"He seems a bit too relaxed outside," Ray notes. "Like, he was always on edge in the shelter, but out here he's more comfortable. But why? The demons don't know about the shelter and avoid that area, and it does have a comfortable lifestyle, so why is he more comfy here than in the shelter?"

"Who knows but him? He's hard to read." Emma places the pot on the fire. "It really is hard to see the fire. I almost thought he didn't even light the wood before looking down the pit!" she exclaims.

"Yeah," Ray replies. Ray doesn't want to talk to Emma right now. There's something making the skin on his back crawl, like someone's watching you from far away. Or right behind you, almost breathing down your neck.

"It's done!" Emma cheers the moment a few minutes pass. She waits for Mister to come around to show her what to do afterwards, which has to do with some of the meat that he sliced, and soon enough, the food is ready. "Look! I made something new!"

Ray nods along with what she says, but he just really wants the conversation to be over. He wants to leave as fast as possible, for the wild demons might be close. Mister also seems ready to leave as well, since he tells them, "Just eat your food on the go. We don't have time to be standing around here."

Fire pit covered and pots put away, the two kids eat their meal as the trio make their way to Goldy Pond.

**And that's it for this chapter. See you all later, I guess. If there's anyone else other than myself.**


	7. Attention Catcher

**Hello. Sorry if you don't understand this story. Just go read some other story. This is for me, but if you want to read it, you can.**

**But you might want to read some other story. Just saying.**

**{No one's POV}**

As Emma walks alongside Ray, she gives a long jaw-breaking yawn. Not only had she slept poorly from the bitterly cold wind and dew the night had provided, but a demon had almost jumped her while she slept. Mister, of course, had been alert as he slept and woke up when the demon emerged from the bushes. He killed it where it stood immediately, waking both her and Ray. The only reason he even killed it was because it had closed in on him first and not Emma or Ray.

After the demon's corpse had stopped twitching, Mister told them to start moving without any care to what time it was. He hadn't let them start a fire that night, as that could lure the demons to their sleeping place. They were awfully close to their nests still, despite having cleared the area. Unfortunately, Emma and Ray decided not to listen when they were shivering violently and Mister was sleeping peacefully (because his coat protected him from the cold) and started one anyways when he was asleep, which is why that demon had even found them in the first place. Once Mister found out, he forced them to walk for hours on end, and it didn't help that Emma and Ray couldn't go to sleep for most of the night that Mister had been.

Mister hasn't talked to them at all today. He just walks. And walks. And walks. The sun had risen an hour ago, three hours after they had woken up, and yet Mister hasn't stopped for breakfast. Instead, he eats a pre-prepared breakfast on the go, forcing Emma and Ray to ignore their grumbling stomachs and walk exactly ten steps behind him. If they got closer, he'd increase his speed, and the children are already exhausted as it is.

The children shiver as the freezing wind brush against their skin. Their clothes are thin and not doing them any favors against the wind. In Grace Field and in the shelter, they never needed warm clothing. And since Goldy Pond wasn't too far away from the shelter, everyone had assumed that it wouldn't get too cold and never thought to pack warm clothing. But the trees seem to take the warmth of the sun for themselves, leaving the shade so cold that Emma and Ray are surprised they don't have frostbite yet.

"It's freezing!" Emma chatters, her teeth clinking against each other. She rubs her arms, trying to create some heat, only for the wind to rip whatever warmth she gains away from her. "Mister, can we please stop and make a fire?"

"Forget it," Ray says when Mister doesn't respond. "He's just angry that we almost got him killed. Which he's right, we shouldn't have started that fire. We should have known to keep ourselves warm without one, especially at night."

She hangs her head and doesn't say anything for the rest of the day. It was grueling, long, and tiresome, especially since Mister had already prepared his meals ahead of time and didn't need to stop. By dinner, both kids tore into their food without even trying to cook a meal, which Mister took notice in. This night, they didn't try to start a fire and just settled in.

The next day, Mister doesn't wait for them to eat breakfast when the kids wake up. He just gets up and leaves, forcing Emma and Ray to run after him. Mister is ready for the day and wide awake, whereas Emma and Ray are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as the sun rises over the horizon.

_This day seems to be the same as yesterday so far,_ Ray thinks. Mister hasn't talked to them at all today, and he has stopped to let the kids use the bathroom and eat for a second, but other than that, he hasn't shown much mercy to them. Now Ray is starting to think that there might be something else, for Mister keeps looking over his shoulder and keeping up a very brisk pace, one that forced the children to practically jog after him in the forest.

As they stopped for a short meal break, Emma stands up and places the remains of her food into Ray's lap. "I know you're going to tell me I'm insane, but I've decided to go talk to him," Emma announces, marching up to Mister's relaxing form.

"Wait!" Ray manages to stand up fast enough to hold onto her arm. "What are you doing?! I know you feel bad for him and all, but he tried to kill us!"

"He gave us another chance. He's true to his word and he hasn't let us die yet. I don't know about you, but that seems to me like a good person."

Even though both children know he can hear them, he doesn't react at all. "Mister! Let's talk!" Emma calls out, and Ray slaps a hand over her mouth.

"What are you doing?" he hisses. "There could still be demons around, and all you'll be doing is attracting them while we're vulnerable."

She shoves his hand away. "Mister! I just want to talk with you. Without any deals or manipulation or anything like that." He finally stands up, exactly eleven steps away from Emma and Ray. "I want to help you," she whispers, and Mister turns his head to them, eyes bloodshot.

"What did you say?" Light reflects off of something metallic in the man's sleeve, and Ray catches a mere glimpse of the man's knife before the sleeve covers it once more. His fear for Emma doubles within a second.

"I want to save you." Emma walks closer to Mister, despite Ray's attempts to pull her away, and stops 5 steps away from him. She can almost feel the hurt radiating off of this man, though it is noticeably less obvious outside. He is more relaxed out here, and Emma knows why. "There's no reason to be enemies here. We're all cattle children that escaped. We're all hiding from the demons." At the word "demons," Mister's eye twitched. "It's more beneficial for us to be together instead of enemies, right? So what's your problem? Why do you hate us so much?"

A few moments of silence passed. The tension's so thick that Ray almost suffocates underneath its pressure. Then Mister finally breaks it. "What makes you think I want to talk to ya? I hate looking at your bitching faces! I hate all of you! Why would I ever tell you _shit_?! Now back off and keep your fucking mouth shut before I cut out your tongue!" His knife flashes as it slips out of its sleeve and into his open hand, and he points it at her mouth. "This time I ain't joking around," he growls.

"I'm not going to stop until you talk! It needs to stop! I don't want to see you suffer anymore! It's painful, isn't it?" Mister, confused, doesn't stop her from continuing. "It hurts every day. Seeing the shelter where you all used to live, walking past their rooms every day. You watched your comrades die, and it still hurts, doesn't it?"

At first, Mister clutches his knife so tight that his knuckles turn white, and Ray fears for Emma's safety. But Mister doesn't make a move towards her. "We had a friend that we all loved," Emma begins, and Ray already knows what she's about to say. "I wanted so badly to bring him with us, but because of a choice I made, he's dead. Gone. And I still think, could I have saved him? That's what you thought. You had a family, but you lost them. You suffered so much, for so many years, all alone. By yourself. Because of your choices."

A tear slides down Emma's cheeks as she speaks. "And you hate us because we're exactly alike. The current me and the old you. My family and your old family. You hate that we're still alive, together, happy, while you had to suffer because of the same ideals. You're unhappy about how we intruded upon your home, the last thing you had of your family. You wanted to kill yourself without being disturbed, and that's why you wanted us to leave."

Mister blanches at her words, shaking more than a leaf caught in a hurricane. "How..?" His red eyes widen, and his grip on the knife loosens almost to the point of dropping it. "You... You read it? Both of you?"

Seeing him so vulnerable and scared, Ray feels guilty for thinking of him only as a murderer, even after reading the hurt and guilt imprinted on each page of his diary. It just didn't feel like this man had wrote it, but after he sees the look on the man's face, he knows that he was in the wrong as well. "Yes," Emma breathes out. "And I want you to be part of our family."

A few moments pass before Mister straightens. And he starts to laugh. "Excuse me?" he asks once he finishes laughing. "You want _me_ to be part of your family? After you invaded my privacy and home? After I have told ya that I hate you?"

"Yes!" And one glance at her face shows that she's serious. "You suffered so much all alone, and I said I don't want to see you suffer anymore. So I want you to join our family. So you can live the dreams of your comrades. They don't want you to be alone anymore, and neither do you! So let's change that." Before she can say anything else, though, the wind changes direction, and Mister freezes. He tenses up for the first time since they've entered the forest, and he seems to completely forget about Emma and Ray.

Then the bushes rustle, and Mister quickly dives, barely dodging the ropes lashing out to the spot that he had been in. Instead, the ropes catch Emma, whisking her away before she can understand what's happening. "Emma!" Ray shouts. _Damnit! I never should've left her!_

He tries to reach her, but Mister pulls him away from the ropes once more. "Forget it! You're just going to get yourself caught, too!" he yells, slinging Ray over his shoulder as he runs through the thorny bushes. Thundering footsteps follow them throughout the forest as they run.

"Let me go, you bastard!" Mister only tightens his grip on Ray as he runs. The footsteps grow louder, and Mister has to keep leaping and dodging more often. But Ray doesn't notice all of that. All he can think about is—_Emma! I was supposed to be looking out for her! How could I be so stupid?_

Suddenly, Ray is violently thrown onto the ground, rolling past a row of bushes and over a small cliff. "Ahh!" Ray screams as he plummets past the canopy of trees, landing on some criss-crossing vines. It cushions his fall, though the vines snap from the impact, dropping him onto the forest floor.

All of his nerves fire off when he hits the ground, and he groans in pain as the familiar burn spreads all over his limbs. It doesn't matter that someone might hear him. He forgets to be silent and hide as he lays on the ground crying out in pain. Only when the pain subsides (rather rapidly, might I add) does he grow silent. And then he opens his eyes.

As he blinks from the sudden increase of light, Ray looks up to where he had come from. Through the leaves, he can see only the weird birds chirping their strange melodies as they flutter through the open air. Other than that, there's a few clouds and mostly clear skies. And no Mister.

"Mister?" he calls out before remembering all of the noise that he had made earlier. If he hadn't attracted a demon then, they're surely coming for him now.

And Fate seems to be in a teasing mood today, for not a moment after he thought that did a demon leap down from the trees into the clearing, heading straight for him. Seeing the horde of angry demons on the first day made this demon look like a petty animal compared to them. Dangerous, sure, but not so much as he had thought of before. Besides, it was very bulky, made more for powerful strikes than for speed, so Ray could see its attacks coming from a mile away.

Because of its slow movements (as in slower than other demons's movements), Ray manages to leap through the demon's awaiting claws and away from its snapping jaws, shooting at its eye. However, he misses, and the demon roars with anger. Cursing, Ray shoots again, this time hitting the mark. Before the corpse hits the ground, Ray's already booking it through the forest, looking in all directions for Mister.

After all, how can he find Emma without any way to get that information?

In the distance, he hears something slam into a branch, but he pays it no mind. For he has accidentally stumbled upon another demon eating a small snack, this one gulping down an entire demonic animal of some sort. Its body was too mangled for Ray to identify which kind of animal it was, but this demon roars at Ray and slams its tail into the ground, trying to spook him. Ray takes this as an opening and shoots at its eye, which it doesn't even try to dodge. It just lunges at him so fast the bullet misses its target, shrugging off the pain of it entering its forehead.

_Woah!_ There's barely enough time for Ray to jump out of the demon's way, and he's thankful that it only manages to graze his clothing with its claws. Ray aims again, only to curse when there's no more ammo inside his gun. And the demon doesn't give him any time to reload, attacking him swiftly with a clawed hand sweeping just inches above the ground, forcing Ray back.

It roars in fury, and Ray's heart beats harder. _Please let this be a stray, please let this be a stray._ A roar sounds off in the distance, and Ray curses his luck. But there's no time to think, for the demon attacks wildly, slashing everywhere and downing trees in the process.

The problem was not how the demon was going to attack, for it doesn't think and attacks instinctively, making its attacks very predictable; no, it was how fast it attacked that Ray struggles with. Before Ray completely dodges one attack, the demon will already be preparing another. As such, Ray's stamina rapidly decreases as the fight goes on, to the point where it's pure luck that the demon hasn't hit him yet. And the fact that the demon also slows down with him. It wasn't built for stamina or strength, simply speed and surprise.

So Ray thinks that he may actually have a chance to survive when the demon starts to heave with him. Until the ground begins to shake. And that's when he remembers the other demon. Now he's screwed three times over as the next demon enters the clearing, immediately spotting him and the fatigued, smaller demon panting in front of him. And Ray only has to look at it to know that it was built for speed as well.

And the new demon only has to glance at him to know that he's tired. It grins, slowly creeping around him, knowing that no matter what this puny prey did, it wasn't going to escape. The smaller demon takes the hint and backs off, knowing full well that this demon wanted no distractions or interruptions for this hunt.

Ray feels nauseous as he takes this time to reload his gun, keeping his eye on the demon. His mind works overtime to think of a way out of this, but there doesn't really seem to be any way he could survive. This demon was fresh, hasn't been in a tiring fight, and might be even more quick than the smaller one that he had been fighting. On the other hand, Ray's tired, slow, and wants to just fall over and sleep with how much his body burns.

No matter which way he looked at it, he was screwed. And the demons know it, too. So Ray lowers his gun, seeing no way out of this, and lets the demon slowly walk up to him, raising its claws for a slow, torturous death.

Before a miracle happens.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

The last two days, I know these children are probably hating me right now, but we can't stop for long. _**They** _already know where we are. And we have to keep moving to stay ahead of **them**. I don't feel like seeing_ **their** _faces once more, never mind _**his**._

And as we entered the third day, I can tell that _**they're**_ right behind us, just far enough away that _**they**_ can't see us but close enough that I can't stop for anything. But the kids's faces are so worn out that I can't help but give them a few breaks. And I can feel _**them**_ closing in fast.

Then Antenna Girl, that stupid brat, has to go and try to talk to me. I can't believe them when they say that they've read my diary. Something that's all _mine_, no matter what they say. Not even Lucas was allowed to look inside of it.

To see that they've broken what little trust that I've had for them renews my hatred for them. The knife seems so inviting, just waiting to be used on something other than my flesh.

I turn the thought over in my head, momentarily forgetting about _**them**_ until the wind changes. Then I can smell _**them**_, surrounding us, waiting for us to relax our guard before—

The hairs on the back of my neck stands up, and I almost have no time to react at all before I throw myself out of the ropes's way. Instead, the ropes catch Antenna Girl, dragging her into the bushes faster than either of us can react.

And like the idiot he is, Cyclops actually tries to chase after her, throwing himself in danger for no good reason. She won't die (yet).

_Just let him die. Don't risk your life for that lying shit._

Against the thought of leaving him behind, I throw him onto my shoulder and run. _**They**_ run behind us, releasing ropes that snap at my feet as I run. There has to be some way for us to escape.

And then, an idea forms. One that definitely wouldn't save Emma, as some of _**them**_ would have already left with her, but one that will get _**them**_ off of our trail, just long enough for us to hide again. It's a crazy thought to have, one that can easily end up with me getting caught, but at least Cyclops can escape.

With that in mind, I purposefully allow one of the ropes to ensnare my foot just as we reached the edge of a small cliff, and I release Cyclops. He quickly rolls through the bushes, and I can hear his delightful scream as he falls into the trees. My only hope is that he lands in the vines instead of a branch, for he wouldn't know how to land properly.

And I feel _**them**_ tugging on my foot, dragging me over to _**their**_ awaiting claws. That's when I take off my gun and shoot at the one holding the rope, smirking when I hear _**them**_ cry out in pain, and the rope loosens. Giving me enough room to jump.

The rope soon stops, but _**they**_ have to let it slowly stop, or risk my foot snapping. And _**they**_ wouldn't do that to _**their**_ prey. Now I let my knife slide into my open hand and slice through the ropes, allowing myself to fall through the canopy inches from my face and onto a branch. More like slam into it. The pain is nothing, however, and I easily brush it off.

Unfortunately, I land a bit away from where Cyclops had landed, and judging by the man-eater corpse in the clearing and the snapped vines, he has left the clearing and ran in a random direction into the woods. Woods that he doesn't understand very well, and woods that have quite a bit of stray man-eaters. There aren't more than a pair per "pack," but for someone that was as tired as Cyclops, that could mean death.

Not a moment later, I hear a roar, followed by another roar further into the forest. _Great, Cyclops. You just _had_ to run into another fucking man-eater._ I groan, hoping that I can just walk away. Still, I rush over to where the trees are falling, knowing that with my luck, Cyclops's probably screwed a few times over. And if I let this continue, _**they're**_ probably going to hear, and that will put me in more danger than if I just help him.

It takes a bit, but I finally reach the clearing and instantly want to facepalm. There are two man-eaters, the smaller one tired and an easy target. Judging by both of their forms, they're meant for speedy attacks, some of the worst to encounter, especially if they have a lot of stamina as well. But these man-eaters are meant only for speed, nothing too bad for me. And Cyclops's already tired one of them out for me.

However, I can't count on him, for he's also spent. And the other man-eater seems to have just gotten there with how fresh and eager it is to have some prey. That one's going to be a bit harder. But I've dealt with tougher man-eaters than them.

Just as Cyclops lowers his weapon, I snipe the smaller one. It never stood a chance. The larger, fresher man-eater looks on in confusion as its "pack member" falls to the ground, dead. And then it feels my bullet rip the flesh on its side. It roars, angered by the thought that some _prey_ dare to attack it. Another one of my bullets dig into its skull, thinner than most, and it gives a war cry before stricking the tree it thinks I'm in.

Once I have sufficiently angered it, I drop to the ground, paying no attention to the stunned Cyclops on the floor. The man-eater finally notices me and growls before bolting towards me, raising both claws to mince me before I can blink, gleefully showing off its teeth as it thinks it has me right where it wants me to be. As it brings its claws down, I sprint forward, dodging its claws and sliding underneath its sharp teeth and belly, shooting its back when I emerge on the other side. The large man-eater turns towards me, about to roar, before a bullet pierces its eye.

It dies before it can hit the floor.

Just in case, I reload before taking a look around and tsk at the sight of the once normal clearing. Trees lay everywhere, dirt upturned and various corpses of wildlife are scattered throughout the battleground, and with all the noise that this fight had made, _**they**_ will surely come for us. We have no time to lose. If I want to make Lucas proud, I have to make sure that the kids can get back to the shelter safely. Then, and only then, can I kick them out and end myself, knowing that I at least made Lucas proud.

"Come on, we have no time to lose." That seems to snap Cyclops out of it, and he opens his mouth to speak. I shut him up real fast, though, saying, "No time. _**They'll**_ hear ya. We have to go hide _now_." Thankfully, he used his intelligence for once and nodded.

I sigh and look around the battleground to see where we can hide. Underneath a tree? No, _**they'd**_ find us instantly. In the bushes? No, _**they'd**_ go straight for that, too. After I find no good hiding spots, I begin to walk away. After a few seconds pass, Cyclops begins to move as well, silently copying my every move.

It takes a minute or two, which by then I can feel _**them**_ getting closer, before I find a good hiding spot that they'll never look into. The entrance to one of the tunnels that run throughout the entire forest. "Okay, we'll be safe in here for now, but we'll have to leave eventually," I tell Cyclops, though I suspect that his family have used these tunnels before. That would explain how all of them survived, if by a little bit. This will prove if he did.

As we enter the tunnel, Cyclops inhales slightly differently, which proves to me that he recognizes the type of tunnel it is. So that's how they survived when they escaped. "Wait, you know about these?" Cyclops asks, puzzled by how I knew of these.

"I happened to stumble upon one of these when I was coming back from Goldy Pond," I lie. Well, I didn't, not really. I just didn't say the whole story.

The moment I walk forward five steps, I feel along the walls, grasping for the familiar torch that I had found all those years ago. I pulled out my old lighter, feeling nauseous at the memory of being stuck down here, walking through the tunnels while covered with John's blood. Even now, I still think that I might see John standing there in the darkness, asking me to give his blood back. Then I light the torch, and there's nothing there. I can breathe a bit easier.

_Of course you can. After all, you're the only one that can breathe now. Why shouldn't you feel so much better, knowing that you don't have to see your family again?_

My stomach churns, and I can barely walk straight. Stop it, just stop. The walls grow narrow, wobbly, shaking, and the floor seems to suddenly lurch, throwing me off balance.

_None of this is real,_ I think to myself. _It's not actually happening._

Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out. Calm down. Nothing will happen.

This time, I open my eyes to a normal tunnel. Cyclops doesn't say anything, and I don't, either. All we do is walk through the darkness with my torch to keep it at bay, waiting for the right moment to emerge once more. Just don't slip up, and everything will end up fine.

**{No one's POV}**

Emma wakes up to the sound of music playing. Cheerful, lovely music. It ends within a few seconds, and Emma wishes to have it back. It's nice to listen to music once in a while. She finally opens her eyes and looks around to see a street lacking people. Small little cottages littered the streets, beautiful little things that Emma would love to live in if it weren't for the quiet. And the dread that hovers in the air.

Even the sound of her soft footsteps seem too loud in this empty village. She turns behind her one more time to read the gate welcoming them. To where, she doesn't know. It seems off to have such a thing inside this village, where there's no one around. Seeing nothing else to do around, Emma wanders the small village, eyeing the windmill she can see peeking over the canopy of trees.

Once she gets to the top of a small hill, she looks down upon everything that she sees. What's even stranger is that, in the far distance, there's a large mansion that radiates this ominous aura, with fields and part of the forest surrounding the village. _Fields, a large mansion, a windmill, and a recently abandoned village...What is this place? Where am I?_ She looks through one of the windows, and finds lunch ready on the table. It even looks to be freshly cooked, just served before the people disappeared.

Since nothing else is happening, Emma decides to explore, try to find at least _someone_ in this place. So she walks back to the village, feeling the tension increase the more time passes. Once she got to the village, Emma chooses a random street and walks down it.

Time flies past Emma as she wanders the streets. How much, she doesn't know. A few minutes, maybe? Perhaps thirty? "Mister? Ray?" She calls out their names over and over until someone shushes her. It echoes throughout the cobblestone streets, and Emma jumps at the sound, so used to the quiet that followed her wherever she went.

"Wh-Who's there?" A girl, about the same age as her with short purple hair and purple eyes, pops out from a door and puts her finger to her lips. Then she turns around and takes off, leaving Emma behind. "W-Wait! Wait up!" Emma chases after the girl through the streets, keeping up with her as they run through the small village filled with balloons and bright colors.

The girl turns around a corner, and when Emma follows her, she has to stop. She's gone, as if she never existed in the first place. But Emma can't be insane yet just because she's alone, right? Where is she? _Wait, the pen!_ Pulling out the pen, Emma gasps in shock, staring at the letter/numbers on the screen. A08-63. So this is Goldy Pond?

_What is this place?_ she womders for the umpteenth time. That's when she notices a sign to her left. She had been so focused on the girl and the pen that she completely missed the wooden sign right next to her. The sign read, "Rules: Music. Monsters. Survive." _Music, monsters, survive?_

"You really should be looking for a place to hide," a voice says from behind, just loud enough for Emma to hear. Spooked, Emma whirls around to see the girl from earlier, staring at her with an unreadable expression. "The monsters are coming, and staying outside is never a good thing."

"W-What is this place?! Where am I?! Why are there 'monsters' here?!" At the girl's frown, Emma quiets down. "What is this place?" asks Emma, whispering this time.

"This is a secret hunting reserve, for _**them**_," she spits out with distaste, mamaging to school her expression so her anger doesn't appear on her face. Though her tone is enough to show how much she despises the demons.

"A _secret_ hunting reserve?" The girl nods in response. Despite her warning about staying out in the open, Emma stays in the center of the street, unsatisfied with her answer. "What do you mean by that? Is this another plantation? Maybe its run by _**them**_..." Emma adds, remembering how Yuugo always had the same tone as this girl when talking about _**them**_. The poachers. The one that ruined Yuugo's life when he went to Goldy Pond, though he never wrote down anything specific in his diary. Like the village, or the music, or other children stuck in this little deadly game of hide-and-seek.

"I knew it. You're not like the others. You already know about the plantations, about _**them**_," the girl says, her eyes narrowing in a guarded way. Her entire posture is guarded, like she can't really bring herself to trust Emma yet. "But this isn't another farm. No, it's a secret garden, the private property of an aristocrat of a monster called Lord Bayon," she explains. "And the only reason you, me, and all the other kids are alive is for them to hunt us and to eat us."

_What? But this goes against the promise. "Demons shall not hunt humans." So to keep the promise—_

"The farms don't know about this place. Remember, it's a _secret_ playground, made only for a few aristocrats to enjoy with Lord Bayon."

"'All the kids,' you said," Emma whispers apprehensively.

"Just newbies. Once a month, they replace all who've been eaten," she coldy replies, as if she's gotten used to the fact that kids die here. _Which means she's been here for a long time._ The fact that she hasn't escaped yet even after all this time makes Emma's heart sink. Her chances of escaping are dwindling faster than her pounding heart.

"Replace...with whom?"

"Mostly farm kids. They have some sort of special privilege, so they can ship living cattle."

"And you said that the other kids don't know..."

"No, they don't know anything at all. They think that they were fortunate to be born in some happy orphanage, had been chosen to be sent to a good home to live in, and then some monster kidnapped them, and they come back every few days to torment them. That's how they see it, anyways." This girl looks around in every direction, reminding Emma of how tense Mister had been the last few days she had been with him, before saying, "We should get going. We need to find a place to hide. There's someone I want you to meet," she finishes just as Emma hears a scream from the forest.

Before the girl can react, Emma bolts down the street, only hearing the girl's surprised shout before she hears the girl's feet slapping the cobblestones behind her.

In the forest, a small girl with an even smaller boy are surrounded by demons, cackling at their shaking bodies and scared faces. The older girl holds a wooden spear to try and keep them away from the smaller boy, but she knows its useless. Her little brother's injured, her older brother's nowhere to be seen, and these monsters are just too powerful and scary. It was pure luck that she had managed to hurt one of them, though she knows that she will pay dearly for what she had done. _W-Why are these monsters real?! the girl sobs in her head. I-I want to go back home, to my loving, kind friends. To my sweet, caring teacher, the girl thinks, not suspecting that her teacher is in league with the demons._

The demons step closer, and the girl shivers in fright, standing between as many of them and her little brother as possible. _Brother, please help us!_ she thinks, believing in her older brother. _I'll try to hold out as long as possible, so please, save us as soon as possible. I don't want to die!_

Unbeknownst to her, her older brother is hiding behind a tree, watching the entire scene with a rusty axe in his hands and tears in his eyes. _I have to help them! They're my family, but..._He shivers at the memory of that monster looking down at him, grinning sadistically. _I can't! I can't face them!_ Silently sobbing, he resigns to hiding behind the tree as his siblings died. And as the leader of the group raises a long, decorated blade, he shuts his eyes and prays that they'll be granted a swift death. _I'm sorry! Please, forgive me!_

But the demon doesn't strike. Instead, he uses his beautiful blade to point at the two children in front of him. **"I'll give you kids ten seconds!"** Surprised, the children can only shake and gasp, trying to figure out what he wants from them. _What does he mean?_ the children ask themselves but don't dare to say it out loud. **"Choose one among you _three_,"** the demon says, grinning at the confusion and slow realization of the two in front of him, **"for me to hunt next. Don't worry, for after you decide, I'll let the other two go!"**

_There's someone else here?! But where? And why aren't they helping us?!_ the two young children think, instinctively backing away from the sharp blade the leader swings around. The older brother sweats bullets as he realizes that now, his siblings will die knowing that he was right there, able to help them. But he was too much of a coward to do so.

**"Which one will it be? You, the one who managed to hurt one of my attendants? You, the one who's already injured?"** He points to each of the children respectively, his smile growing wider as he points to the tree the brother is hiding behind. **"Or you, who wants to betray your folk and run away?"** Both the girl and the boy turn to the tree in surprise and betrayal, for they now know that their older brother had been behind that tree the whole time and did not help them.

**"Now, I'll begin counting. 1..."** As the demon starts to count, the children shiver in fright, knowing that they just couldn't abandon their siblings now. They'd all die, anyways. Standing aside to watch, Lewis shakes his head at the other demon's show of power. _What a pathetic little game, for those pathetic creatures. It's so obvious that you'll kill them all anyways, that even the rabbits can see through your little game._

He looks down at the poor boy cowering in fear in front of him, preparing for his final breath. A fleeting thought of actually killing this rabbit passes by. _Too much of a waste. This one's just another disappointment._ Tired of this game, Lewis says, "You may go now." Immediately, the boy runs away, not even giving the three children in the clearing a glance of pity as he flees. _The good times were nice. The battles were a flurry of deathly traps and trying to outwit one another...really made you think, really got your blood boiling. After all, a hunt's only exciting when both sides put their life on the line,_ he thinks as he walks away.

**"Time's up!"** the demon yells, and the children begin to scream, knowing that they'll die now. But before he can do anything, another girl bursts into the clearing and throws their axe at the eye of the demon, shouting at the other children to, "RUN!" Without hesitation, the two younger siblings make a run for it, bolting into the trees as fast as their bodies will allow. The eldest brother, shocked by the girl's courage, almost didn't try to run for it. In the end, his cowardly nature force him to run away, hoping that the strange orange-haired girl will be alright.

Hearing someone shout, Lewis turns around and finds something that he hasn't seen in a long time. A tiny, orange-haired girl with brilliant green eyes running head-first into danger, throwing her axe at the 'monster,' as they call us. _Did she throw it at the eye on accident, or...No, it was with a purpose. She knows our weak spot._ And one look into her eyes makes his day less disappointing than he thought it would be. Because now, there's a new killer in town.

And this time, he won't let his prey escape.

But he can't go after this strange girl yet. No, first he has to instigate her fury, just like the last one. _What was his name?_ He pondered this question as he heads downwind, watching out for the trio of children that were sure to seperate from the orange-haired girl while also ignoring the demon throwing a tantrum. _Lucas. That was his name. Got so angry that I had taken one of his friends. And when I killed the rest, he truly became a killer. I still remember that moment when we started that game. It was also the day that I lost another potential killer, but you can't get everything. Wonder what he's doing now, if he's still alive._

With that last thought in mind, he continues forward, excited once more at the prospect of a great, exhilerating hunt.

**Hope that's enough for you. Bye now!**


	8. Arrival at Goldy Pond

**{No one's POV}**

Ray follows Mister through the dark tunnels, occasionally brushing his bangs out of his eyes to see through both once enough stray roots and rocks had hit the left side of his head. Thankfully, they were moving slow, so there wasn't serious damage. However, feeling something hit your face a lot was uncomfortable and hurt after a while, so Ray, for once, actually used his left eye for the duration of his time in the tunnels. Then, after an hour or two had passed, Mister decided that it was okay to go outside and walk, though they had to be extra careful and silent.

As they walk through the forest, Mister finally gives some advice on how to be extra silent, only because Ray has to be in order for both of them to survive. "Move your foot a few inches to the left," Mister communicates to him with sign language, something that Mister had picked up on while in Goldy Pond. As soon as Ray sees this, he moves his foot over and is almost surprised at how much quieter his footsteps have become. Sure, he had been near silent before, but now he was completely silent. And the fact that Mister knew where his foot should go and where his foot was about to go without even looking behind him greatly impresses Ray. After all, Mister can tell where he is without any sound or sign of where exactly Ray is without having to look back. Being able to do that is very impressive (obviously).

_How can he do that?_ Ray thinks. _How is he able to know where I am without any sound or sight?_

Ray longs to ask Mister his question, but due to their placement, Ray can't communicate to Mister through sign language, but Mister can communicate to him since he's in front of him. Thus, if Ray wants to ask Mister anything, he has to talk, which is forbidden (for obvious reasons). And he can't speed up, for Mister's so fast and deathly quiet that it takes all Ray's got to not fall behind. In his mind, Ray wonders if Mister's being this fast on purpose. It certainly seems that way, for Ray can't ask any questions without the risk of getting caught as well, and Mister can't see his hands, so he can't use sign language to communicate to him.

Ray mentally sighs and just goes with it, walking behind Mister as they head hopefully to where Emma is being kept. Hopefully.

**{No one's POV}**

"You idiot!" the girl half-shrieks, bopping Emma in the head once they were safely away from the Egyptian-looking demon. "Why would you go and run off like that?! I thought that you had some sense and ran for it, but instead you came to help these dumb idiots that you don't even know! Are you fucking crazy?!" Emma only responds with, "Yes."

The violet-haired girl continues to rant. "Not only did you make me lose brain cells and hair at your stupidity, but you also had to attract _his_ attention. The one with the hat. There's a reason we don't go around saving everyone and attacking the demons," she mutters at the end, finally going quiet. And when Emma doesn't respond, the girl simply sighs. "Honestly, why am I always stuck with these idiots?" she asks to no one in particular.

"Hey...These demon—I mean monsters, are they always the same ones?" An eyebrow is raised at this question.

"Yeah. About five, not counting the attendants. But it has to be the same ones since this is a _secret_ playground. Not one made for every single noble to enjoy." Emma doesn't take notice of the jab at her "stupidity," instead asking another question. "And how many humans are there?"

"There should be about fifty right now, since they just restocked," the girl responds. "Why?" she asks, narrowing her eyes at this new girl.

Emma nods at the answer, trying to figure out how to save all of those children. _I do need to contact Ray...But these people need my help right now. I can't just abandon them!_ The violet-haired girl seems to sense Emma's thoughts, for she grips Emma's shoulders as hard as she can and whispers, remembering that the demons would hear her yelling, "We don't have time to fool around and help people! We need to find a place to hide, before the demons begin to track us, if they're not already. And the other demons could come at any time and hunt us down as well!"

Every other child there paled at the thought of more demons, even Emma. After all, these were intelligent demons, not just wild ones that can easily be fooled. They're easily more dangerous than an entire horde of wild demons. _Which is why I have to be there for them,_ Emma thinks to herself. _They will die if I don't help._

The youngest of the three children had stayed silent to let the others think and speak, but after seeing Emma's face, he had to say what he was thinking. "You go!" he cries out, startling Emma and the violet-haired girl. His siblings immediately side with him, nodding at Emma. _I can't be a burden anymore!_ the two older children say in their heads, supporting the youngest's idea.

"But—!" Emma tries to argue, but the small child interrupts before she can. "I'm fine, see! Just gotta rest a little bit. I can still run just fine! I'll go in a bit, so..." The protective hand over his wound does not excape Emma's eyes, but she doesn't have the heart to tell him no. This small child reminds her of Don when she looks into his eyes, when he was hurt because they didn't trust him or Gilda to be level-headed when they learn the truth.

Everyone holds their breath, waiting for Emma's response. She bites her bottom lip, hating herself for thinking that these children absolutely have no chance of surviving without her. They do need her help, but she can't be there for all of them if she babies them forever, like she had tried to do with Don and Gilda. "All right," she relents. "However," she adds, "if you are being chased by demons, tell them that I'm premium grade, from Grace Field. Then run away as fast as you possibly can." The eyes of the violet-haired girl's widen, but Emma doesn't notice as she gives the three siblings some more advice.

"Stay hidden in the bushes, stay out of sight, hide your tracks as best as you can, and head downwind so the demons have trouble smelling your blood," Emma lists off what she knows that these siblings will be able to do, for they won't be able to learn everything that she did from Mister without any visual help. "Go that way for now, and hide as best as you can. If you see the demons's tracks, run before they can find you, okay?" All three nod vigorously, determined to prove that they can be of help to this fierce, courageous, intelligent new girl, that they can survive without her having to be there.

"I'm Emma. Who are you guys?" she asks, desiring to know the names of those in the same situation as her.

The youngest sibling says, "I'm Theo."

The girl with the ponytail, Theo's older sister, says, "Monica," with a proud look on her face. Though Emma knows it's just to hide her shaking legs.

The eldest, which Emma had briefly seen when she threw the axe, mumbles, "Jake," hunching in on himself with a guilty look.

"Then let's meet again together!" As the three close siblings head downwind, Theo looks back at Emma and says, "Thanks, both of you. You saved us. I'll never forget it." Then the three disappear into the forest, leaving Emma and the girl by themselves.

_It's okay, they'll be fine,_ Emma reassures herself as she runs through the forest, on the lookout for any humans or demons. _The demons are five, the humans about 50, and they come to hunt every three days...They bring in more humans once a month, so the hunting has to be limited. And they don't kill off everyone before bringing in more, since there are experts here that know how to hide effectively, meaning that they have to have experience. So they can't kill a lot at once._

A low-hanging branch barely misses her eye as she zooms right past it, trying to stay as silent as possible while running. It's hard, but she manages to stay quiet for the most part. _I'm premium goods, something even nobles cannot get, for I was reserved for a special someone. They'll all want a piece! I will make good use of how they value me to save as many kids as possible._

"I don't want to die here," Emma blurts out, not really knowing why she's saying this herself. "I _can't_ die here. But...I can't just leave them to die! How can anyone do that?!" Her voice stays low, to attract less attention.

Glancing over at Emma, the girl replies, "In that case, you seemed all too eager to abandon those other children."

"Well, a group as large as five would attract too much attention, and Theo's bleeding...I don't want to abandon them, but it's dangerous to stay with me," Emma reasons, more to herself than to the other girl. "Those two demons are probably going to chase me by now, and if their group gets caught, even more demons will be chasing after me pretty soon."

"Especially if you're from Grace Field," she snorts. "Then it was truly the best choice to make with that reasoning."

"And that's exactly why you should leave me, too!"

"Shut up! As if I'd let myself get killed by the likes of you!" She slows down enough to run right beside Emma, so it's more easy to look straight into her eyes. "Do you get it? The point is to buy time. If you manage to find a good hiding spot for long enough, the less experienced are picked off and you survive this hunt." Emma flinches at the cold, disinterested tone of the girl's voice, noting that it sounds similar to Mister's tone around comrades, hope, and dead weight.

"...Right, but there's something I'd like to do while we run," Emma almost pleads, gaining the other girl's attention. Suddenly, Emma skids to a halt, catching the violet-haired girl off guard. "Look," she says, pointing to the tracks in front of her. "The demons don't seem to take any care of hiding their tracks, even though they're very smart. Meaning that we can track them as well using these tracks."

"And why would you want to track them?" is her response.

"I want to save as many children as possible. I'll stay one step ahead of the demons and save any children before they get to them. I can't just stand aside and watch them die. Maybe I can't change much, but I want to save as many as possible, to help those too scared to run or hide."

A few beats of silence passes before the other girl sighs and stares up at the treetops. "It's a real pain in the ass to deal with you."

"I get told that a lot," Emma replies, though her mind wanders as she says so. _I'm a hunter, too, but not like _them_. Like, like, like they're playing with _toys_! I can't let anyone else die in this game of theirs._

"Okay, I get it," the other girl says, allowing Emma to realize that she had said her own thoughts out loud. "You want to save them. But if things go south, I'm taking you to a safe place. Whether you like it or not."

After that, the demons all notice something strange happening. **"The prey seem to have gotten away all of a sudden,"** one mutters to themself, losing track of where the prey they had been chasing had gone. All of a sudden, they couldn't sense where they knew the humans had been hiding. Like they were erased off of the map... or abruptly learned how to hide their presence from the demons.

**_But how?_**

Unknown to the demons, Emma and the other girl reached the children before they did, helping them hide by crouching in the bushes and muting the sounds they make. Hiding their tracks. Keeping themselves as low as possible, keeping out of sight of the demons. And after Emma and the girl save a few groups of children from certain death, the music plays loudly, calming Emma's nerves. Hearing it again soothed her, for some reason. Maybe because she knows that now, no more children will be killed for the next few days. Or maybe it's for another reason.

Whatever the case, the group that she's with right now cheer, knowing that they'll be safe. "Okay, we have to go to the town now," the more experienced girl says, automatically taking the position as the leader. Adrenaline still pumping through their veins, the children make their way back to the village, joining the other children that hid in the forest as well.

When they reach the cobblestone streets and the beautifully decorated buildings, every street has a few children strolling around, either in shock or relief, with more exiting the houses that they hid in. Most surround these two older humans, perhaps 13-15 years old, holding boxes and shouting, "Come here for help!" reminding Emma of Theo. She doesn't see him as the group head over to join the larger mob of children.

"Theo! Monica! Jake!" She calls their names again and again, running through the streets in search of them. _How's he doing with his injury? Is he still alive? Jake and Monica must be alive, too, right?_ Many more thoughts swirl around in her mind as she continues to call out for him, sticking close to the "medical center."

And then she spies him. Theo limping, making his way over to the teens. "Theo!" Emma cries, happy to see him alive and as well as he can be at this point. But the feeling soon vanishes when he collapses to the ground without anyone to support him.

_He's...alone?_

"Emma?" he whispers, his voice hoarse from overuse. Emma rushes over to him, eyes wide. She helps him up off the ground, keeping him upright as they made their way to where the medicine is.

"Where's Monica and Jake?"

**[Sometime later]**

Emma sits on the stairs, in shock of what she had learned. Lewis, the demon with the hat that the girl had warned me about, killed Monica and Jake, leaving Theo all alone. For the sake of a game, Theo is all alone, watching his siblings die.

Emma recalls what she had always thought before. _'I'll save everyone I can within my reach!'... My reach is useless!_ Tears well up in her eyes, trickling down at a snail's pace. She buries her head in her arms and silently sobs. _I'm sorry, Theo! I let you down!_

Theo crying, wailing for his siblings, replays over and over in her head. How he, broken and injured, cried for his siblings. His family. The only family that he ever had.

_For the sake of a _game_, two people are dead! Just to play, Theo's all alone!_ A spark of anger reignited, and she grit her teeth to keep herself from shaking. _I'll never let it go!_

"Hey!" A hand slaps the back of her head suddenly, pushing Emma forward. "Listen to me, goddamnit!" It was the girl with shortly cropped purple hair, crossing her arms with an impatient expression. "Get up," she says when Emma finally looks up at her. "I've chased after you all over this place since morning, and now it's your turn. Follow me. There's someone I want you to meet."

Curious, Emma follows the new girl through the cobblestone streets, keeping her eyes on the ground. Emma can't bear to see Theo's face right now. She can't bear to see the anguish on his face, knowing that she failed him.

_This is how Mister felt,_ she thinks, recalling what she had read in his diary. _When he lost all of his friends._

Now she understands why he said her family was dead weight, even though it's still wrong. Knowing that she was the reason Monica and Jake died felt like someone ripped out her heart from her chest. His feeling must have been worse since he had failed the siblings he'd been with for _years_.

All of the colors fly past them as they walk, and Emma soon notes that they're headed for the windmill. The large, rusted blades stand still, and there are a few holes in the sides, with the windows surrounding the holes cracked. It looks like it's been there forever, definitely longer than twenty years. The girl knocks against the door a few times, and half-shouts, "It's me, Adam! Open up!"

Chains clink as the door squeals open on rusty hinges, and Emma's escort tsks. "Someone should really oil that," she mumbles to herself.

When they both enter, Emma hears chains again and turns to see a rather large teen(?) staring right at her neck, where her ID code is. She rubs right over her number, seeing a tattoo on his chest that she has never seen before in any of the books that she had read. But she doesn't stick around to ask, instead following the girl through a doorway and into a large, circular room.

"I brought her," she says, and everyone's eyes land on Emma.

8 different people stare at her, all older than by either a little or a few years, and she only recognizes two of them from the town. Those two, one of them black with a zipped-up coat that hides his mouth and another one that's pale and has dark, short, curly hair with a face made for grinning, were passing out medical supplies. "Here, let me introduce you to my comrades," Emma's escort tells her, gesturing to each person as she calls out their name.

"Those two are Sandy (pale, curly-haired male) and Zack (the darker-skinned male). They take care of medical aid." Both smile at Emma, making her feel a bit better and more welcomed. "Nigel is our mechanic." A younger teen with goggles on top of a hat nods at Emma, smiling at her. "Sonia's the second in command." A girl with pigtails and square glasses bows her head, her unblinking stare unsettling to Emma. "Paula (long black hair with a bit tied up in a small bun, dark eyes, and a red bandana covering her mouth and neck), Gillian (blond with blue eyes, a colorful beanie-like hat that match with her sweater-like clothing), and Pepe (dark-skinned male with an even darker circle of something surrounding his left eye and more formal clothing than Gillian) are in charge of provisions. And I'm Violet. And also—!"

"Wait a minute!" Emma cuts her off abruptly, taken aback by the girl's name. "You're actually a girl?!" (Just so you know, even though I said she was a girl, Emma wasn't sure Violet was a girl. Because of her hair styled like a boy's and her flat chest baggy clothing, Emma assumed she was a boy. Also, her voice wasn't very feminine.)

Nigel snickers at her outburst, only to grow quiet at Violet's glare. "Anyways, there's also Oliver, our leader." The oldest teen stood up, practically an adult now, with a portion of hair darker than the rest of his lightly-colored hair. "Nice to meet you," he says, and Emma shakes his hand. Then he moves behind the table again, with everyone else moving into their own places around the table.

"Only us nine know the truth...And we're surviving together in these hunting grounds, trying to figure out how to escape. We're the only ones that managed to survive for months, sometimes years." Emma's jaw drops a bit in awe. These were the ones that managed to survive the hunts every time. The most experienced people here. But...

"And what's your name?" Pepe appears in front of Emma in a flash, so fast that Emma hardly even saw her move. "Where did you come from?"

Startled, Emma doesn't register the question until a few moments later. "Ah, I'm Emma! I escaped the Grace Field plantation and ended up here..." A thought crosses Emma's mind as she speaks. "Are you all escapees, too?!"

"Nope," Violet replies immediately. And before Emma can feel disappointed by the response, Oliver speaks. "We were all taken here as live game." As one, everyone unbuttoned/unzipped/pulled down their clothing just enough to reveal the ID codes on their chests. "Just like the other newbies you have seen," Paula continues for him, getting Oliver to talk again. "And we're from Grand Valley, the plantation that Lord Bayon manages as a purveyor."

Emma's mind races with this new information. _Grand Valley? I've read about it...It's one of the four high-grade human farms. Not from Grace Field, nor from Mister's Glory Bell. Lord Bayon...Purveyor?_ So many things just don't make sense.

"Almost every child is from Grand Valley," Oliver reveals. "We think it might be the only place where Lord Bayon has any influence. There's only three children here that are from other farms, including you."

"And you're the first from Grace Field," Paula monotones. Her voice is dead flat and serious, though Emma can see a hint of humor in her eyes.

"And a real escapee at that!" Pepe cheers, childishly throwing her hands up in the air.

Emma feels a small smile form until Oliver clears his throat. "This place is exactly what you see it as. A little playground for monsters to hunt humans." Anger coats every word that comes out of his mouth, and his hands ball up into fists. "They have their jolly little hunt, replenish the losses, and then repeat it. Well, not for long," he finishes with a sadistic, almost crazed grin.

He throws a large crate of weaponry onto the table with a dull thud, and Emma jumps at the sound. All she can see are guns, guns unlike anything she has ever seen before. Everyone around her are giving her dark looks of hatred directed at the demons, expecting her to do...something. "This is..." There was nothing else that Emma could say.

"These are the toys those demons gave us!" Nigel practically cackles, stroking one of the gun's barrel with a single finger.

Sonya mutters with disdain, "They appear so unkillable, that they themselves give these to us with no hesitation or regard as to what we do with them."

Mournfully, Oliver picks up a pistol similar to Emma's own. "A great many of our comrades so far tried to fight back against the demons with these weapons and lost their lives. Many more can hardly even get their bearings in time, let alone hold a gun." His voice steadily rises with rage and disgust, getting louder and louder before he's almost screaming. "And they just keep on killing and killing and killing! And we've endured deaths continuously surrounding us, and we've found reasons to keep on surviving. That is..."

He leans in closer with everyone else, staring at Emma with an expression full of such raw fury that's almost as frightening as Mister's face. "We are going to destroy this playground with our own hands," Oliver growls. Suddenly, Emma's terrified of these people. They're no longer welcoming. Instead, they're people bent on revenge and are almost daring Emma to tell them otherwise.

"The demons's numbers are limited because this is a secret hunting ground," Zack grumbles.

"The demons can't afford to let the other demons know about this place. They won't be able to call reinforcements, and even if this was found out, it would be a while before anyone would take action," Sonya explains. "So we'll be able to kill these demons and take all of these children to a human village. One where we can protect them."

The tension in this room is suffocating to Emma. _A human village?_ She doesn't dare to say anything, in fear that it may be taken as an act against what they're thinking.

"I'm sick of running away, swallowing down sacrifices! I'm fed up with their SICK WAYS!" Oliver slams a fist into the table, and Emma's regretting ever coming here with Violet in the first place.

"Take deep breaths," Sonya whispers, rubbing circles on Olivers back. She counts to ten, Oliver breathing in time with the numbers. His muscles loosen, and he feels like an entirely different person again.

"Sorry about that," Oliver apologizes. "I just needed to get that out. Anyways, we want your help. You knew the truth about these demons, and yet you still faced them without any hesitation."

Emma gulps. She knows that it may be a mistake to join them, for she could very well die before Ray ever makes it to her because she agreed to the plan. But she can't just sit around and let others die.

"I'm in." Every face shows a varying degree of approval at my decision. "However, I have to ask you something..."

"How did you learn about all of that?" Emma asks.

"If you're not escapees, how do you know about the truth, about the demons? How?"

"A certain someone told us," Oliver replies.

"Someone?" This was just getting kore and kore confusing to Emma. Who else was here?

"We're basically his hands and feet, his agents," Zack further tries to explain, only to find it fruitless when Emma's expression doesn't change.

"The only adult here," Gillian whispers as the sound of wood hitting the concrete floor grows louder and louder. Emma's eyes widen. _An adult? Here? In the playground?_

"His existence is a secret, okay?" Pepe joins in, putting a finger to her lips.

Violet grins at Emma as a shadow reaches out into the room, the source of the sound just around a corner that Emma cannot see. "I told you there was someone I wanted you to meet." Then the mysterious adult turns the corner, and everyone is still. Quiet.

"Hello there," the man says. His face has three long scars on the right side of his face, yet it doesn't impede his warm smile. His missing limb does not limit his ability to radiate this warm aura of a good leader to everyone in the room. "I'm Lucas."

Everything Emma thought she knew is thrown out the window with those two words. _L-Lucas?! He's alive?!_ "You got a pen, right?" Emma cannot respond, but she doesn't need to. One glance at her face was all he needed. "Then let's talk about William Minerva."

She can hardly understand what Lucas even said. All she thinks about is the diary, his name engraved into Mister's wall, Mister's shout for him to shut up. _It can't actually be him, can it?_

The sound of his cane tapping against the ground brings Emma back to see Lucas walking back to where he had come from. "W-Wait! Are you from Glory Bell?!" she cries out. Without turning around, Lucas stops at the name, clearly listening. "Could it be that you came from B06-32, and that you're a friend of...of..." Emma falters since she never got Mister's name, but what she said was enough.

"The gear you're wearing..." _My gear?_ Blinking from momentary surprise, Emma looks down at her gun, the coat, the bag that she had taken from the shelter. "I figured you must have been to B06-32 as well." He turns around, tears welling up in his eyes at the thought of his old friend. "I've been terrified of asking. It's been over thirteen years already." His voice begins to waver, the fear and hope laid out on his face. "Tell me, is he still alive...?"

Words could never hope to even answer such an emotional question, so Emma sticks to a nod. Instantly, Lucas feels so many raw emotions flood him, the biggest one being happiness, and a single tear streaks down his cheek. "I see...That's great...!" he whispers, his voice cracking from all the emotions swirling around inside of him. All he ever wanted to hear was that Mister was safe. That he was alive. That he can see him again and keep his word.

And Emma cannot bear to tell him how much Mister has deteriorated without him.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

**[Morning]**

Lucas is missing. Everyone else is here, sitting around the fire pit with me, but he's still not here. No, no. Something's wrong. I can't think without him. My hand feels so empty without the broken teacup, shattered from the amount of abuse over the years. At least the coat still draped over my shoulders, like Lucas's arms when we finally made it to the shelter for the first time. When we finally found a place we could call home after all the pain we've been through.

I need him to be here. He's always been with me. Lucas needs to come back. I can't find the strength to live without him. I can almost feel something horrible drawing near.

Everyone around me talks for forever, chattering about all sorts of random things they would have talked about in the shelter. And none of them seem to mind the missing Lucas. Something's definitely wrong. What's happened to Lucas?!

Calm down. Nothing's wrong. Everyone else is happy, so he's safe. I let out a shaky laugh as Bess makes a joke, something about wild man-eaters or something like that. Everything's fine...

But that doesn't stop me from thinking that maybe, just maybe, something might be wrong with Lucas.

Maybe...

The knife glitters in the sun's morning glow when I bring it out of the bag, its cool metal refreshing when it touches my fingertips. He always hated it when I cut myself, always showing up sometime later to scold me. Maybe this will bring him out?

Taking in a deep breath, I let the knife slice into my arms, practiced enough to copy _**his**_ technique. And sure enough, a thin trickle of blood pours out before stopping, the scratch already healed completely.

But he doesn't appear. And nobody else sees the knife when I slide it up my sleeve again.

The warmth doesn't seem right when it keeps the cold at bay. Neither does the hot tea as it gives my insides a false warmth. Lucas should be here, too, enjoying the heat of a fire once more. He should be here.

But he's not.

Suddenly, I hear the faint noise of music in the distance. Music that sends familiar chills of fear up my spine. Music that has haunted me for a long time. Everyone else stands stock still, hearing the music, too. I feel nauseous. _**They're**_ hunting again. I don't want to go down there now. I don't want to be able to see _**him**_ again.

But when Cyclops begins to stir, everyone else leaves in the direction of Goldy Pond, beckoning me to follow them. They see me for the first time. And I get up without another word. They need me to follow them. They want to bring me to Lucas. There's no way I _can't_ go with them, even if I want to vomit at the thought of entering Goldy Pond again. Even if the thought of seeing Lewis again has me shaking in my shoes from both terror and fury.

With everything I've felt comfortable with starts to change, all I can do is hope I'll make it out on the other side in one piece.

I can't hold myself back any longer. I throw away trying to hide the noise I make. There are no wild demons around here, and all of the noble demons are hunting now. Hunting small children. They wouldn't be expecting me. Everyone else laughs and walks along normally, forcing me to move faster to keep up with them.

All of a sudden, I see a bright red flower, almost glowing with the red hue that I know I have seen before. A long time ago, when I was still a teen. Covered in John's blood. Running away from a man-eater that was about to kill Lucas.

Suddenly, every tree, every turn, every rock is familiar. The memory feels like I've gone through here a thousand times, crying my eyes out and wishing that Lucas would keep his word. He promised me that we would meet again without fail.

So I waited. And waited. And waited. Until it was obvious that he wasn't coming back. That I had made him break his final word by leaving him.

_Coward. Bastard. Freak. Traitor. Murderer._

No, stop. Stop it. They're right there.

_No, they're not._

And it's right. There's not a trace of their existence. All of them have disappeared, but I hear Dina whisper a single word into the open air.. _Windmill_. And then they're gone.

I feel more alone than I have in a few days. All alone, with no one else with me. Then I realize why.

I left Cyclops at our little "camp." In the forest. With no real direction on where to go.

For a moment, I feel scared for Cyclops. He's out there, all alone, and he's going to die. I left a child out there for them to die. But I left a pretty obvious trail, so he should know where to go. Besides, the thought of seeing Lucas again, even though he's dead, wipes away any other thoughts of Cyclops's safety. Or my own.

Gulping violently, I walk down the path I remember down to the patches of dirt underneath my feet. Nothing here has changed, not even the amount of flowers blooming on the ground or the amount of bugs buzzing in the air. Even the thoughts of seeing Lucas again are the same.

_He promised me we would see each other again. And Lucas never lies._

I won't give up on Lucas now of all times. No, I will not repeat the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. Ever. So, without any thought other than the urge to see Lucas again (even his long-rotted corpse), I enter Goldy Pond again with violent shivers racking my body.

**Still here. Still alive (for now).**


	9. Fight

**Here I go again. Not sticking to the lore. But I don't really care.**

**{No one's POV}**

They were prepared now, ready to fight against the demons. All of them were forced to sacrifice many lives for a chance at freedom, deceived even Archduke Lewis. Emma understood how much time, effort, and bloodshed went into the weapons, the plans, the traps. She would not mess up her part, nor would she allow anyone to die. To fight against Lewis... It was terrifying, a cold sweat forming all over at the thought of going up against that monster. But she couldn't run. To avenge everyone that had died here, she had to fight. In order to save all of these children, she had to kill him.

There were plans to kill each and every demon here. All that was left was to execute them.

Seeking out Theo, Emma listens for the silent and sharp intakes of suppressed wails. In the end, she finds him on the curb, sitting outside the cheerfully colored house with crutches and tiny daisies held tightly in his hands with a new bruise on his left cheek. At first, she's ready to tell him a spiel of how they're going to defeat Lewis, get revenge and escape the demons, but the thought of Yuugo's reaction made her pause and instead sit down beside Theo. Letting him take the wheel and start the conversation.

"Violet came over last night," Theo whispers, explaining the faint bruise on his cheek. "She was talking about how we're going to escape and kill the demons torturing us. And she was talking about how hard it was for her to sit back and watch us die, how she had lost someone close to her, too." Theo takes a pause to fidget with the daisies that he must have picked recently, still covered with dirt at the stems and roots. "It made me realize that everyone here has lost someone to them. They're all bitter and angry, angry that they couldn't do anything."

He raises his voice to a low shout, tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. "I'm angry! I'm angry because Monica and Jack were trying to protect me, that I had the axe and couldn't do anything! That the demon was laughing at us for struggling, for trying to survive! That I, the weakest, was spared simply to play a game!" In a fit of rage he throws his daisies onto the sidewalk. The petals scatter, and Theo watches as the flowers, once pretty, were now but stems. "Please, don't lie to me. Are we really going to kill them? Are we really going to end this?" he finishes, delicately scooping up what remained of the broken daisies.

Emma nods vigorously, toning her outgoing personality down a bit to let Theo take it easy and see how serious she was. "We can do it," she says, finally readying the speech that she was going to say from the start. "No matter how weak or tiny we are, no matter how many times they trample us, we're going to beat them. Humanity is not weak! We will beat them and get revenge for everyone that has died, and we'll be able to do it as soon as the next hunt, maybe even tomorrow!" Resting her hand on Theo's shoulder, she looks him dead in the eye and completes what she wanted to tell him ever since she left. "I'm not pulling your leg. We are going to defeat them, and then we'll have the last laugh. So gain your strength for tomorrow, okay?"

A moment of silence passes, broken by the beautiful melody that plays throughout the playing field. Though Theo doesn't really get how bad it is other than the fear pumping through his veins, he does know it's bad just from the shock on Emma's face. "The music...!" She turns to Theo and ushers him away. "We weren't expecting this! Go and run, Theo! Run!"

"Assume your positions, everyone!" the two children hear someone yell. "The poachers are coming!"

"It's way too early!" Emma thinks aloud, rushing over while half-carrying Theo's dead weight over to a safer area. Well, safer than the streets.

**{Earlier that day...}**

"You must be jesting!" one of the demons cawed, sharing the same sentiment as everyone else at the table. Nobody could truly believe what Lord Bayon was saying.

"It's true," Lord Bayon replies, carefully cutting the meat while restraining himself from punishing his serfs. After all, they did get at least a premium grade human, though they lost the other two. "There was a trio of humans in the forest; however, my serfs only managed to catch one. Although, the other two will be caught soon enough."

"Cut to the chase already!" a jet-black demon cries, slamming their fist on the table gently enough that it only rocks the plates instead of smashing the wood. "What had they caught? Who were the other two?"

Lord Bayon inwardly smirks, knowing what was about to transpire. "The one we caught was premium-grade." A collective gasp resounds through the room. "The other one was most likely also premium-grade, and the third was strangely a mature human. He was also the one that threw off the serfs's trail." At that Lewis perks up, surprised that he would soon have two potential predators to play with. The mature may not taste as delicious, but considering how capable this one must be to survive long enough to mature, the mature one must taste almost as good as premium-grade. And to throw off a serf's trail as well...

All at once the demons throw aside their meat and drool at the possibility of two premium-grade and an adult. Oh, fate must be shining down upon them to treat them to such desserts! It's been such a long time of going without mature meat or even having a chance to taste premium-grade that they could no longer wait. While waiting for the other two to be caught they had to have the premium-grade today! The only thing going through their minds was how to beat the others to it first.

And Lewis knew who the premium-grade must be.

**{Returning to present...}**

The scariest part was not knowing what to expect and knowing that their plan was really close to falling apart at the drop of a hat. Nobody had been expecting the demons to come so early, but everyone had managed to execute the plan soundly up till now. Theo was safe inside the windmill along with all the rest of the children, protected by Lucas and Adam. The rest are seperated into four groups to hunt down the four demon groups: Lewis; Luce and his followers; Nous and Nouma; and Lord Bayon with his serfs.

Since Emma had attracted Lewis's attention, she is in charge of distracting Lewis for 15 minutes, by then hopefully everyone else had finished off the other demons and then could all attack Lewis. She had to distract him, though; if she failed, the entire plan would fall apart. And if the others failed, then Emma would surely die by Lewis's hand with no backup, and then everyone else would soon follow. With the knowledge of the entire plan resting on her shoulders, Emma walks out with the determination to give the others a chance. Her chance to avenge not only Theo, but Lucas and Mister was right here, and Emma would be damned if she isn't going to take that opportunity and escape Goldy Pond.

Even if it means facing an almost certain death.

The demons are chasing their targets, searching for the premium-grade that was right inside their yard. Trying to get it first. The other demons wander around with no luck on finding any of the humans except the little children stuck in some houses that obviously were not premium-grade and were thus spared as to waste no time. They have to get the premium-grade first, and secondary-grade was too trivial to deal with.

Luce, on the other hand, ecstatically cries in victory at finding that little girl who dared to throw an axe at him. Now he could get his revenge and spit in everyone's faces by getting the premium-grade first and eating it! "Don't let her get away!" he screeched, and his followers cried as they relentlessly chased down the hooded female that was surely the premium-grade. Soon enough, she was surrounded and backed up against a tree. Cackling, Luce yells, "Finally, I'll have my revenge! And I'll get to taste premium-grade meat!" Then the girl pulls back her hood, and Luce cries in shock. He's staring at a blonde girl instead, one with a beanie and blue eyes. "You're not that girl!" Confused, no one makes a move against Gillian when she raises a whitsle to her mouth.

"Wrong! You're dealing with me!" she smirks before blowing into the whistle. Immediately everyone's heads perk up at the signal, even the demons currently searching for Emma. For right afterwards, an explosion had gone off that could be seen from anywhere in Goldy Pond. None of the demons understood what was going on, and Luce turns back around to see that Gillian had disappeared. "W-Where'd she go?!" None of them know where Gillian had gone and lost her trail for the time being.

Everyone else other then Luce understands afterwards what must be happening. _A revolution_, Lord Bayon thinks. _The second-rate meat decided to attack for once. How pitiful._ Bayon gives it no mind, for the weapons they had given the puny humans would not even give the demons a scratch. Nothing they could do would actually harm the demons, so Lord Bayon had nothing to fear. He is indifferent to this revelation.

Lewis, on the other hand, has an entirely different point of view of the matter. Chills and waves of excitement ran through his demonic body at the thought of the rabbits fighting back. Rabbits were rabbits, even when they fought back, but the way they are fighting thrills Lewis to the point that he could feel himself shaking. If that orange-haired girl was behind this, then Lewis knew that this would make his heart flutter with the thrill of the hunt. A grin spread out on his face, revealing his sharp teeth and a suffocating aura that shakes Emma down to her core. It takes everything Emma's got not to freak out.

Gillian, tucked away nicely in the canopy from prying eyes, listens to Luce screaming at his subordinates about how they had to teach the cattle a lesson for being too cheaky and revolting. "Find them!" The demons crawled around the place, sniffing the air and climbing the trees in an effort to please Luce. A flashback of Gillian watching her sister die ignites a fire in her, and she prepares her revenge for slaughtering her sister in such a way.

The others were also remembering all the suffering they had gone through at the hands of these demons. Every last one reignited the fire that had been burning for months and, in some cases, years. Each one yearned to get their revenge. And all of them were determined not to let all this planning go to waste.

Ever the brash one, Gillian waits until the right moment before leaping out of her safe, hidden seat in the trees to fire at Luce's elegant mask. Standing atop a branch by herself, she glares down at all of the demons. "Eat lead." Then she fires upon the horde of demons.

Immediately Luce notices how many of her shots were aimed at his weak spot. _How do they know? Did that premium brat tell them?_ She leaps away again, keeping far enough away to shoot at their masks comfortably with her two rifles. None of his servants are getting close enough and they're falling to the ground momentarily in large amounts. _But there's hardly been a day since she arrived. Maybe it's a fluke..._ Just then, another puny human with goggles pokes their head out of nowhere and shoots directly at Luce's eye. _It's no fluke!!_ he screams inside his head. _They're trying to kill me, the leader!_

He orders his followers, screaming for their heads. _The fools, thinking that their weapons will work against our masks. They'll just die anyways, since none of their bullets will be able to kill me! It's no use! No use!_ He chants the last sentence in his head as his servants chase down the prey, trying to pin them down in a bad spot while the humans kept shooting bullet after bullet at the demons. It was apparent that they're shooting randomly into the crowd of demons. _All it will do is waste your ammo!_

Dumb as he may act, Luce did know how their weapons worked. He watches the amount of ammo left in their guns, waiting for the moment when they have to reload. It takes a while of his servants falling and getting back up, but then the blond female finally starts to run out. "Now's the time! Attack!" But nobody responds to his commands. That's when Luce notices that his servants were laying dead on the forest floor and not getting back up. "They're all dead?! Every last one of them?!"

"We were never aiming at you." Hatred pooled in Luce's eyes as the humans finally land on the floor, gloating about their victory. "We know all about your masks. All about them. And we know that the commoners have masks with worse construction than yours." She emphasizes her point by smashing one of the pieces with her foot.

"First shoot the masks, and then hit the vital point," Nigel begins.

"And pretend to flail around so you never notice," Gillian finishes, grinning more wildly than her colder companion. Now Luce can feel it, the cold hands of death brushing against his skin. He backs away from the two, their cold eyes burning holes in his body with hidden rage from over the years. _Damn it all!_ Pulling out his decorated blade, Luce attempts to slash at the bondie, snarling until it is shot out of his hand by her partner. Taking this opportunity, Luce runs away, but since he never learned how to run he was way slower than the other two, flailing his legs around in an awkward skip. _How dare I fall to these... these cattle?! Just yesterday they were nothing but weaklings! They didn't even know how to hold a gun!_

Gillian jumps and slams her foot into Luce's back, and his untrained body falls to the floor with his limbs sprawling ungracefully. _And yet it was all part of their plan. How could I, a noble lord, fall to the cattle?!_ His mask is pulled off of his face, and all Luce can see is Gillian standing atop him with her gun aimed at his weak spot. One last chance. Just distract them long enough for Lord Bayon to come over and help him.

"All right, you win this time." Saying those words made Luce want to throw up, especially to cattle. But if it meant survival, then Luce could bear the disgrace. After he kills them, there will be no one to witness this, so his pride will not be tarnished after this. "I'll grant you anything you desire. Let's just talk this over, okay?" From what he can see, the female was not amused.

"I'll give you ten seconds." Eh? The female didn't even bat an eye. Maybe Luce can get his chance to devour them right now. "No, I won't! You're comrades aren't coming to save you." Gillian can feel the anger rise. This monster murdered her sister and ate her, then had the gall to try and save his own hide?! "You're not getting a single second." Her aura is deadly all on it's own, suffocating Luce with the sheer amount of rage. Terror has Luce firmly in his grasp, and he can practically feel death inching closer.

"Wait!" He needs more time. Luce has to come up with something fast, or it's all over. "Think about it! These tricks aren't going to work for the others. You won't even have the slightest chance. I'll forgive you and let this slide, just spare me!" For a moment Gillian's grip relaxed, and Luce thought that maybe he actually got to her. Faster than Luce could think, Gillian shoots him and kills him before he could beg more.

"My sister... To think something like this did that to us..." The two get up, ready to run and continue fighting. "Like we're using the same tricks for everyone," Gillian scoffs. "Not everyone is as stupid or weak as you. Why would we ever use our trump cards on you, the weakest of the five demons?"

Nigel glances down at his watch. "6 minutes and 22 seconds have passed. We should get going to the next step." Gillian nodded in agreement, and they both head towards their next assignment.

In another area of Goldy Pond, Sandy and Sonia are fighting against Nous and Nouma, supporting each other against the vicious, unrelenting attacks from the demons. The tall, black, sleek demons just took it all in stride, evading the bullets with ease. "Two of them," Nouma observes. She points to Sonia running away. "This one." And then she briefly glances at Sandy's "hiding spot" before dancing around another bullet that Sonia shot. "And that one."

"Correct," Nous muses, swiftly landing on the ground with as much grace as a ballerina. "They're evading us quite well, cooperating to avoid us." Now that they weren't shooting bullets for the moment, Nous takes this opportunity to examine the forest surroundings, delighted by the battle. "Seems like they've been going for the long con this entire time." Nouma doesn't reply. She just leaps forward and watches the humans reload their weapons. "They've finally decided to play tag instead of hide-and-seek. And for real, too!" Nous grinned widely. "How fun!"

Nouma finally replied to him, calmly tilting her head away from a bullet to her left. "However, we've drawn the short stick. Neither of these people are from Grace Field." She leans her head back to avoid another bullet from the side and continues to talk to Nous. "Which means we can't kill them. After all, killing more people means lowering the head count, and then we won't get the premium-grade."

Suddenly the two demons switched up tactics, actually running towards the cattle this time instead of just dancing in the open. "Just play without killing them!" Nous yells over to Nouma.

"Let's go, then!" Both of them skillfully avoid the bullets, dodging without a care in the world.

"Still, what pitiful creatures! Taking all this time to train and decieve us for nothing!" Nous exclaims, running alongside Nouma towards Sandy. "In the playground that we designed, there's nothing you can use to kill us!" He swiped at Sandy, who managed to duck underneath his arm and avoid decapitation, just how Nous thought he would. Sandy's gun didn't come out intact, though, with the barrel missing. Now that it was useless, Sandy throws his gun away and starts to run with Sonia away from Nous and Nouma.

The two jet-black demons continue to play with them, chasing the two humans relentlessly, letting the two humans run around at random like some headless chickens. Soon enough they let the humans pull ahead to make the hunt more exhilarating, not wanting to just chase them for forever. In the end, they'd both find them anyways. _They have to be planning something, though... All that work can't be just for nothing._ That was what the two demons were thinking as they tracked down the two humans.

And then they both stopped in front of a maze of wires. _A trap?_ Nous claps his hands together. "Oh, well done. Decieving us again by pretending to run around in random directions and leading us to a trap!"

"It will do them no good anyways, though," Nouma says, "for their guns are too weak to break through our masks." Sonia and Sandy listen to the two mocking them for all this time spent "for nothing," but they know how wrong Nous and Nouma are. _Yes, usually we'd be able to do nothing, for even if we held you down we couldn't take your masks off by hand._ Both of the teens nod at each other, pulling out their trump cards. Big, bulky guns with specialized ammo that they had painstakingly created with the loss of countless children. Made to destroy the masks that protected their faces. Unfortunately, there are only five bullets and three rifles made for that ammo. Even after eight years, that's all they could manage to make. Nobody can afford to miss a single bullet. That was why this trap was made. Of course, neither of the two demons know this, and thinking that these two have only regular guns, they take the bait with Nous going first.

He takes a step forward and waits, aware of all of his surroundings for even the slightest movement. _Nothing...?_ Now Nouma steps forward, touching a wire with her spear. Immediately both of them feel a whoosh of air and Nouma slices the huge log flying towards her face. More logs continue to swing down towards the two flexible demons. Then they both leap into the air to avoid the snapping bear traps and arrows flying down. In midair, Nouma sniffs one of the arrows and smells the poison they had used. _Amusing._ But they hadn't snapped a single wire.

At once, both demons realize why as they avoid all of the attacks with their athletic bodies. _Set off one trap, and all the others will follow..._ "How insulting," Nous voices, thinking how stupid the humans could get for thinking that this trap could hold them down. He dodges yet more arrows, getting suspicious about all of these traps. "They're still coming. Are they hoping for an opening?"

Sandy keeps a close eye on Nous, and Sonia watches Nouma as they get closer to the spot they want them to be at. _Just a little longer..._ The demons leap out of the way one last time and spot the two humans hiding behind trees, at exactly the spot they wanted them to. _Stupid humans,_ the two think, sprinting at them so fast that they look like blurred shadows in the forest.

_Come closer..._ Sonia tightens her grip on her gun, waiting for just the right moment. Once they were ready, both put on their sunglasses and waits for the demons to pop out from behind the trees. Sandy throws up a flash grenade just as the two demons leap out from the sides, exactly where Sonia and Sandy expected them to be. Taken by surprise, the two demons had no time to look at the new guns and are blinded immediately by the bright flash. Since they were wearing sunglasses, Sonia and Sandy are unaffected and aim for their masks.

Both humans hit their target, and their masks shatter to pieces with their heads thrown back by the force. Right away, Sandy leaps away from Nous, and yells, "Sonia! Pull back for now!" Still somewhat blinded, Nous blindly swings his arms at the direction of Sandy, barely missing him. However, Nouma recovers a bit faster and seizes Sonia by her neck, lifting her into the air.

"Brilliant, just brilliant!" Nouma snarls, her pale face contrasting her jet black skin. "We knew you were up to something, but we never expected you to make a flash grenade, much less weapons that can blow masks! We took you too lightly. You're dangerous game!" She squeezes tighter on Sonia's neck, cutting off her air supply. Sandy wants to help Sonia, but he's stuck behind a tree with Nous hunting him down, more invigorated now that he's found such wonderful, intelligent prey. "Sadly, you relaxed a bit right after you blew our masks off. Once you destroy the mask, you must finish it right away," Nouma chides, digging her claws just a bit more into Sonia's neck, loosening her grip for Sonia to take in some air. "Now I really want to hunt you, too."

Pulling on Nouma's hand, Sonia smacks herself mentally. _I wasn't expecting this demon to recover so fast. But this works, too!_ Before Nouma can wonder why Sonia's smiling, a tiny bullet whizzes through the air and passes through Nouma's middle eye, killing her instantly. A tiny cry escapes Nouma as she releases Sonia, a cry Nous could hear. "Nouma!" he shrieks, forgetting the humans and rushing towards her side.

Coughing, Sonia walks over to Sandy's side, thanking Paula's perfect timing. After all, like Emma said, the greatest moment to kill them is when they're wrapped up in enjoying their prey. "Nouma!" the other demons wails, cradling her in his arms. Real tears stream down his face as he cries, wailing at the death of his beloved Nouma. It doesn't spark even a drop of sympathy in the observers, for they had killed humans relentlessly and enjoyed watching them cry. Now the demons dare to try and copy the emotions humans felt? They grew more angry at watching this large, deadly demon cry.

Back in the town, with all the cheerful decorations, Lewis stops in the middle of the street, feeling the other presence grow closer. "I know you're here. Come out." In response, a foot steps out from behind a building, and his grin grows slowly wider as Emma walks over to him. He was barely keeping himself from drooling at the thought of not only playing with this new predator, but eating her as well. "We meat again, 63194. Emma." This meeting was monumental, the very battle that will decide the fate of Goldy Pond.

Back in the forest, unaware of the two finally meeting face to face, Nous continues to cry. Both Nigel and Sandy raise their guns, waiting for the perfect position to shoot at the last demon standing in their way from the next step. _We'll finish this!_

None of them expected Nous to eat Nouma. Crushing her brain between his jaws and crunching down, ripping apart her flesh with her blood spilling out from his mouth. Momentarily surprised, nobody can shoot at him until they shake their heads and force themselves to calm down. _Gotta find a good spot!_ they all think. Up in the trees, Violet and Paula are the only ones with a good angle to shoot. _There! He's raising his head!_

When Nous raises his head, he roars at the prey for killing his Nouma. Already he could feel the newfound strength entering him, Nouma fusing with his soul for the time being and yelling at him to complete the job. To kill all of these humans regardless of the head count and the premium-grade. And he can sense everything, including the bullet flying at him. It's child's play to tilt his head away, following the angle to know the source. The two snipers that had murdered his Nouma. He raises his spear, soaking in the wonderful feeling of being able to see the humans run, and threw the spear at the two.

"Paula! Violet!" the pigtail human cries, the one that distracted Nouma and let the snipers kill her. Within the blink of an eye he's there, standing above her with unrestrained fury.

"Give me back my beloved Nouma!" he screams, throwing his arms down to kill her.

In another part of the forest, Gillian whistles in the air to let everyone know that Luce had been bested. "Ours is the first to whistle. Figures. All's going as predicted. Now we have to go to Zack's team and help kill Lord Bayon." Nigel's quiet, as usual, but he would at least be saying something. But instead he stops, staring wide-eyed at something to his right before backing up against a tree. Gillian stops as well, following his example. "What's the problem, Nigel?" Immediately Nigel shushes her, staring at the bushes behind their trees.

"Something's coming."

**That's it. It was really quick, but I just want Yuugo to come now and see Lucas.**


	10. The Hunt

**{****No one's POV}**

Violet crouches behind some bushes, trying to keep herself from crying in shock. Paula had been struck by that demon's spear in the blink of an eye, bleeding profusely (thankfully she only got hit in the shoulder), and Sonia and Sandy are in danger if Nous hasn't already killed them. He's talking to himself... no... he's talking to Nouma? As if she's still alive. _Could it be he absorbed her after eating her? No, that can't be right._ He knees Sandy in the face. "Where are you?" he calls out, singing slightly as he shuffles around, agitated. "I'm almost killing him!"

_He's much stonger! From eating Nouma, or from anger? We were so sure we could take them on!_ Violet can't look at Sandy any longer, so she turns before she vomits. She has to bring Paula to safety, but she can't leave Sandy and Sonia behind. The only way to save them would be to kill Nous. _But if I shoot at him, no matter how far away I am, he'll know where I am. And then there will be no way Paula could survive. What should I do?_

Someone taps on her shoulder. Violet looks up, and Emma's smiling at her reassuringly. Then she blinks and it's someone else, a child about as old as Emma with his black bangs covering his left eye. An adult wearing a mismatch of clothing is with him, with a long coat draped over his shoulders. "Doesn't seem like your regular hunt. Unless things have changed in the past thirteen years."

Before Violet could register the new information, the child talks to her. "What's going on?"

"Be quick about it," the adult mutters, keeping an eye on Nous who was still beating up Sandy.

"A revolt. Against these grounds." Violet doesn't know who these newcomers are, but she needs all the help that she can get. "We were able to kill one, but then he ate her. He's much more powerful now. If we can't kill this one in the next two minutes, our entire plan will fall apart. Then everyone will be in danger." The reality of the situation hits her in that moment. She has to defeat Nous within two minutes without dying or losing any ammo. And if she shoots, he'll know her location. He'll dodge it and kill her. It's hopeless.

"Mister, let's change our strategy. We need to kill this demon." _Wha..._ This child and this adult wants to kill Nous? Without any information about him? Without even knowing who they're fighting for?

"Wait! It won't be that easy..." Violet argues. She doesn't want anyone else to get hurt, especially if they aren't part of Goldy Pond.

The child turns to look at her, like she's really stupid. "I know that. If killing that demon means saving Emma from danger, then we need to kill it. Not doing anything will make the situation more dangerous. That's the last thing anyone would want." This kid's so cold and calculating that Violet was almost jealous of him for being able to think like that. For being able to look past all of death and see what needs to be done to endanger the least amount of people.

Then Violet's mind finally catches up, and she asks, "You know Emma?" Before the kid could respond, Violet adds, "Killing that demon will help her, but it'll mean nothing if nobody can go to help her fight off Lewis."

"Wait, what?" Fortunately he kept his voice down.

The adult steps forward, closer to the rampaging Nous. "Mister—!" He lifts up a hand, silencing the child.

"Both of you, stay back. I got this." All at once, "Mister's" aura is different than before. More controlled, still, cold. Like hushed fury bleeding into the environment. Now Violet can see how this man managed to survive this brutal world long enough to mature. Suddenly, "Mister" was a predator, a _demon_, indistinguishable from the forest. If she hadn't been staring at Mister, she'd look right over him. "We just need to kill him, right?"

Hearing the man talk, Violet feels the same feeling she would get whenever Lucas began to talk. Safe, secure, trusting. But she can't let this man sacrifice himself. Nous will kill him before he can even blink. "Don't! My sniper didn't work on him." _Don't go out there and get yourself killed._ "This guy is ridiculously fast... And extremely angry. Going out there is suicide."

"I know," is the reply Violet got before the man walks away.

She's about to go chase him, but the child stops her from leaving. "Now, about Emma."

**{Yuugo's POV}**

There's a lot different about Nous. He's much more brutal than before. Much more savage, primitive. No wonder he was able to sense the shots. He could probably hear them whistling and see the bullet as if in slow motion. Which means his sight has also improved, especially after consuming Nouma.

Right now, Nous is like Lewis. A slower, beastly Lewis. All of his intelligence in combat has been sapped away, and all he's relying on is his senses. Usually, that would work on other people, other humans. It did work on other humans. But I have more experience in hiding than these children. I can handle him.

He's throwing a teen against the floor. Other teens litter the floor in different areas. They never stood a chance. That other girl is lucky that I made it in time.

To get to the windmill, I have to kill him. To properly bury my comrades, I have to kill him. To move forward, I have to kill him.

There's no other way. No way around killing Nous.

Taking deep breaths, I crouch in the bushes, hiding from Nous's sight. My gun, so familiar in my hands, is aimed perfectly. All I have to do is wait. Push all of my emotions to the side, any thoughts other than the perfect angle, timing, speed, position. Nous picking up the barely breathing teen does not stir any thoughts of rage. When he begins to throw the teen, all I can see is him entering the perfect pose. Not the teen's bloodied face, nor his twisted arms.

Once I feel everything align, my fingers just twitch and then the bullet's already through Nous's head. Blood flies through the air as the demon collapses, calling out for Nouma one last time. Then it's over. Everything comes rushing back. Blink and I exit my calm state. "Y-You did it." Oh, right, there are other people with me. "How?"

"That's what a sniper does." I settle on that answer, not really keen on standing out in the open any longer. "Anyways, where's Antenna Girl?" There's no time. We have to move now. I have to get to Antenna Girl. The windmill can wait, as hard as it is to say so; Antenna Girl cannot.

"She's with Lewis, in the village." Right when she points a path through the forest, I head in that direction.

"Where're you going?" Cyclops walks in step with me, also headed towards Antenna Girl. I stop him from moving forward. "What the hell are you doing?! I'm not just going to let you go on your own, you might just let Emma die!"

"Are ya going to make that girl carry those people all by themselves?" Immediately Cyclops is silent, looking back at that purple-haired girl staring at the both of us. "I promise I won't let her die. However, if we stand here arguing, then not only will she die, those teens will die as well. Go help her carry them." And then I'm off, tearing through the forest and, once more, hoping that I'll make it there in time.

**{No one's POV}**

After all of the unmanned guns emptied their magazines and stopped kicking up dust, Nigel pokes his head out of the window, unnerved enough by Lewis's stature and aura that he can't even blink. _Is he dead?_ Of course it's wishful thinking, but Nigel hopes that Lewis is injured at the very least, though he could regenerate. Having said that, the horror of watching the dust clear and seeing Lewis not only completely unharmed but also holding all of the bullets rips Nigel's hope to shreds. _How can we even defeat this monster? After all of that, he's still alive! And he caught all of those bullets!_

Lewis ignores Nigel for the time being, not seeing him as a threat for now. "First move was to find safety. Interesting. But what shall you do next, Emma?" Said child nods at Pepe who had just arrived to the battlefield and is crouching beside her, and inwardly answers Lewis's question. _Isn't it obvious what I'll do next? We need to move forward and destroy that mask before we can do anything else!_ With an idea forming, Emma gestures for Pepe to move a bit closer and whispers it into his ear before they both split up.

Despite the other demons underestimating these rabbits, Lewis knows better than that. _They must have a weapon to destroy my mask. That's the only way the others could have been killed. And using those unmanned guns to distract me..._ A dark look crosses over Lewis's demonic face, hidden underneath his mask. _I can feel that Emma is not the only one here, though the number is small. They must have something up their sleeve. Or will they have to improvise with the small number that they have?_

_What will their strategy be?_ The tall, cloaked demon grows slightly impatient at having to wait. "Will you carry out your plan now? Should I make my own plan? Or shall I just find you and kill you? So many difficult choices for me to make." His ears picks out the light taps of Emma and another's shoes hitting the floor, so he completely ignores the goggles kid hiding in the window and follows what he recognizes as Emma's footsteps through the narrow streets of the village.

Taking advantage of her smaller form, Emma leaves the front door wide open and crouches just out of view of the door. She hunkers down and waits for Lewis to find her hiding spot. _Even though there's only a small amount of us, we can still do this!_ Lewis will come after her for sure, and in this tiny house, she knows she'll have the advantage. And she knows he'll see that, too. _Take the bait._

Outside the house, Lewis eyes the open door. However, he doesn't get any closer. Instead, his lips tug upwards into a cruel smile. _I see._ Then, with his cloak fluttering behind him, Lewis hunts down his prey.

In another part of the village, Pepe lays in wait in one of the alleys. But before he emerges from the thin passageway, Pepe hears the familiar, haunting thumps of a demon's footsteps. _He's here? Following me instead of Emma?_

As the demon carefully steps down the street, he sees the third companion run out of the alley in a frantic manner, shooting randomly. Lewis doesn't even need to dodge the bullet. It lodges itself into a pipe that bursts and sprays water all over the cobblestones and Lewis. "Seems you can't aim with only one arm," Lewis taunts, unhindered. His prey bolts away like the rabbit it is.

_He followed me instead of Emma._ Pepe, as opposed to breaking down and panicking, glances over his shoulder at the large demon and smirks. _Just as Emma said he would._ Hidden in the shadows, Emma finally darts out into the open and throws a wire at Lewis's feet. A live wire, which electrocutes the water and consequently the doused Lewis. Every nerve is set alight, and Lewis screams in agony. _Electricity?!_ He had never been shocked by it before, so to him it is a new, foreign pain that glues him in place.

Up on the rooftops, the once unthreatening Nigel aims at Lewis's mask, madly grinning. _This is what you get for underestimating me!_ He shoots once he gets the perfect shot, and everyone prepares to shoot his eye the moment his shot hits its target.

But Lewis, ever the crafty demon, lifts his hand up in spite of the electricity and blocks the explosive, allowing his hand to take his mask's place. Everyone's face morphs into one of shock. _He managed to do that even though he's electrified?_ "I've never been electrified before," he murmurs to himself, delighted at how witty these humans are. _But I won't let it happen again._ And he leaps at Emma, his good hand stretching out towards her face. Still surprised, Emma can't react in time and finds herself in another situation of death. She doesn't have enough time to run or dodge, and she doesn't have the time to pull out a gun and shoot him if it will even do any good here. And this time there's no Mister saving her at the last second.

**BOOM**

Lewis's hand stops in front of Emma's face, frozen from confusion and shock. Just as fast as when he leaped, his claws retreat back to his face, guarding his already broken mask slowly crumbling to the floor. His hat falls gently onto the street, unharmed by the explosion. The cock of a gun tears away Emma's eyes from Lewis's startled form, and she looks up to see Mister standing on top of the roof, more serious than ever. "Long time no see, Lewis." The demon he referred to keeps his head down and protects his middle eye with one of his long claws, yet he smiles at the sound of that familiar voice.

"Ahh, I wondered who could have made that shot. It's so nice to see you again! I had a suspicion you were out and about, but I never thought you would come back and see me. It's been quite lonely without you running around." Lewis bows towards Mister in a teasing manner, lifting his head up to look the man in the eye. "Come! Let's play a game in celebration of you returning. I'm eager to see how you've handled living all alone." At once Mister's body tenses, in anger rather than fear. To Emma, he says, "I'm going to have to cut our game a little short. Nevertheless, you'll still be playing with us!"

In response, Emma tilts her head. She was never really good at riddles, and that's all Lewis seems to talk in.

"If you can 'survive' the next ten minutes, I'll allow you to leave with your tiny little friend here." The stump of his hand gestures towards Emma, who tenses as he continues to talk. While he's distracted with Mister, Emma needs to come up with a plan that can immobilize him long enough for at least one of them to kill him. Eyeing what remained of his hand, her lips purse in thought. "If I catch you... you already know what will happen. After all, you already played my little game before." The menacing way Lewis concludes his little deal has Mister's entire body defensively leaned back, ready to jump off the roof at any sudden movement.

But Lewis doesn't leap at first. He takes a slow first step, planting a seed of confusion in everyone. Reaping what he sowed, Lewis then heads at Emma. But Pepe comes from behind her with a small hand grenade. _Guns as well as explosives! Interesting!_ It's aimed quite poorly at his face. All he needs to do is step to the side and it's flying a few feet away. At the last second, Lewis then registers that maybe that's what they want him to think.

Then the grenade, instead of exploding, splits in half to reveal a little stick(?) of some kind inside. Light bursts out of it, piercing Lewis's eyes without hesitation. Screaming from pain, he covers his middle eye and ducks down, refusing to give Yuugo the chance to attack him. _Everything is white. Where are they? I can't think. I feel dizzy._ Falling to the floor, he feels around for the remains of his mask. Quickly, he lets himself look weak and confused, knowing that Emma, naive and inexperienced as she is, will see that as weakness and head straight for him. Everyone else will think along those lines, telling themselves that they have the advantage now. Maybe Yuugo might see through it, but that doesn't matter. He won't be quick enough.

After Lewis gains a frim grasp on the sharp pieces, he flings them into the air around him, still keeping his head down. Two voices cry out right beside him: one of them a light gasp and the other a deep cry of pain. _This is it._ Immediately Lewis dives for the louder one and swings through the air, feeling flesh tear underneath his claws. However, judging by the sound of the blood gushing out and how thin the flesh was, it was probably from the shoulder or his arm. _This is it._

A pair of footsteps from somewhere above grabs Lewis's attention. He recognizes who those belong to. Even alter all these years, Yuugo is still light on his feet. He hasn't forgotten a single trick, has he? _This is it._ Hearing the gunshot, his good hand deflects the bullet, although only enough for it to strike his jaw instead. Yuugo almost shot his eye before a minute was even up. _This is it!_ Ripping out some of the stones of the street, Lewis flings them through the air and can hear them hit metal. Not a single cry of pain out of Yuugo.

"This is it, this is it, this is it, this is it!" the demon chants, energy flowing through his veins. No other hunt has ever gotten such a feeling out of him. Not since the deal had been made. All he can think about is trying to outwit the others. Outwit the humans. _More! More! More!_ "How many centuries has it been?!" Lewis laughs and pushes his hands through a wall so hard that the entire house starts to crack. The human he can hear in there scampers around in the house, and all Lewis can feel is the thrill of the hunt. "I'm so happy I spared you all!" He yanks his arms out, breaking the minor balance that the house has sustained and it promptly collapses.

The little paws of his lovely companion lightly tap the wet stones where he had been electrocuted not that long ago. Reaching down to pet his little head only reveals that Parvus has brought his hat for him, having somehow survived the battle. "Come here, Parvus. Where are you?" Its soft fur brushes his arm as Parvus climbs onto his sleeves. "It seems I still cannot see. Those children really had me fooled there. Seeing Yuugo caught me off guard as well." The spinning of his head reminds him of his younger days, where he would drink after hunts gone well and then wake up to a massive hangover. Even the demons with their regeneration and higher tolerance of pain still felt horrid hangovers, much the same as humans.

"It's so much fun," Lewis says to the pure white still obscuring his vision, knowing Parvus is there to hear it. "I almost can't stand it. I felt death. But I'm alive!" He raises his arms to embrace the wind whistling through the cracks of wooden boards and rushing through the empty streets. "I'm alive, I'm alive! This is spectacular!" The little creature stood on Lewis's shoulder, unused to seeing the demon so energetic. After all these years, Parvus has always seen Lewis mournfully chasing after the dreams he always had, of chasing humans and feeling the thrill of besting the smartest of them all. Now...

Now he's finally found it. The perfect hunt, one that made his dreams pale in comparison. And he has Emma and Yuugo to thank for it.

"Pepe! Wake up!" Whereas Lewis is enjoying the life flowing through his veins, Emma is shaking Pepe to keep death away. She doesn't wish to see another friend die already. Emma wants to escape with them all. Not to lose a single one. Not after she lost Norman.

A fist slams into the wall, startling Emma out of her light trance. "What the hell are we supposed to do? How much can this monster take?" Nigel hisses, shaken down to his core. Even the adult can't hit Lewis's eye, and he must be the best shot here! "We've shot at him, stunned him, broke his mask, blinded him! And yet he—!"

Mister cuts off Nigel with a well-placed glare. "Ya haven't even fought for more than five minutes and you're already like that?" After no one responds, Mister stands up and brushes off some dust hanging off of his shirt. "If you need time to plan, stay _fucking_ quiet. I'll be listening for Lewis. He'll definitely be coming soon after your little tantrum." Scolded, Nigel hangs his head.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

Everything's blurry. I lied about being on the lookout for Lewis, although he will be coming after us right about now. All I could think about was leaving that room, staying away from the smell of blood that coated the room with its stench of death. Now that I'm upstairs, away from everyone else, I can dry heave quietly without them knowing. I've practiced enough that I can manage to keep the noise down.

After my body stops lurching forward in an attempt to vomit, I rest my head against the wall. Maybe I'll dream that I'm back in the shelter, with my broken teacup and leaning my chair back so far that Lucas pesters me in fear that I will fall. And I'll imagine Hilda whispering to herself about what's in her stash, and I'll imagine laughing to myself at John when he can't find whatever Hilda squirreled away into her secret hiding place. Perhaps I'll wake up to Erica sleepwalking again and guide her gently back to her messy cot.

But all I see is the suffocatingly small room, with _**his**_ unmistakable family crest marked on each tiny wall. _No, I can't. I can't do this. Staying here means risking my freedom, my _life_, and then I won't see them again. I have to leave._

_You did everything last time. Every strategy, and yet nothing worked. There's no hope this time, not when Lewis has regained his sight. Leave while you still can._

My legs shake when I stand, scared of the possibility of facing him _alone_. Of the memories just begging to torment me again. It is easy to pretend that I'm not terrified at the sight of him in front of the children. They're easy to fool. Lewis, though... He can see right through me.

All I have to do is hide. Hide for another six-ish minutes, and then I win this game. Then I can leave with Emma and Ray and pretend that Lewis will not eat the rest of the children and that he won't chase us down and that I won't lose anyone else. Even if I do hate the children.

_"Let's play a game."_ It doesn't matter anymore. All I need to do is 'survive' and then get out of here. Survive. _Survive._

Take deep breaths. Even if Lucas isn't there anymore, just imagine he's rubbing circles into my back and recalling all the times where I've beaten him in chess. (We were tied while he was still alive but he would never mention any of the times I lost.) Pretend that everyone's watching me, reassuring me and getting me to my feet. No, they really _are there_, just like always. Just breathe and listen to them.

Calm down.

It feels... not nice, but better. It's easier to breathe. Don't hate the children. Just play make-believe, like all those tea parties. Pretend that the children are really your friends, even when they aren't. Pretend. Pretend.

And just when things are stable, I feel it. The deathly quiet outside. The stillness in the air. The calm before the storm. It wasn't like this just a second ago. What happened?

_Lewis._

All at once, the very walls vibrate, and gunshots ring out from inside the house. _He's here._ Lewis's right there, right underneath my feet. Just push through the thin floor and he'll catch me. Like the predator that he is.

I'm scared. I can't focus enough to fight.

What about all of those fights I've had earlier? The fight with Nous less than half an hour ago? What happened to that feeling? The focus, the strange detachment, the vague feeling of power watching the bullet strike the target? What is it I'm lacking? What is it that I had then that I don't have now? Rather, what is it that I do have now that I didn't then?

_Comrades._ I freeze, the breath catching in my throat. Comrades. A foreign concept after so long, and yet it strikes a chord in me. It rings with truth.

_I have comrades?_ Apparently I do have comrades; the children outside, fighting alongside me.

_No, they're dragging you down._

Nous had been killed without their help. During that fight I was alone. I felt alone. I wasn't part of a pack, or a family, or any sort of group. I wasn't prey, sticking to a flock. I was a _predator_, singular and powerful all on my own.

_You have comrades now. That's what's holding you back. Comrades. That's what held you back all those years ago. Remember what you told Antenna Girl?_

_Drop the dead weight._

Climbing out onto the roof, I leap a few houses away, watching Lewis burst through the wall. My eyes zoom in on his hand, recently regenerated. It takes him longer to heal now. Children circle him, pummeling him with bullets upon bullets. The tiny pieces of metal chip away at his body, ripping off some of his flesh that doesn't easily stitch back up like the man-eaters in the forest. He's too old to regenerate fast. Perhaps he used to, but he's aged.

_Ignore the children. Comrades equal dead weight._

I shift, cocking my gun. All I see is Lewis. I let those children strip Lewis of his physical strength and regeneration bit by bit. It makes it easier for me to hunt. The little girl stumbles and, with a bit of luck, manages to side-step Lewis's strike. Not everyone will make it out okay. I know first-hand.

_Hope equals dead weight._

More children enter the fray, fighting against the demon with a fury. Avenging their fallen comrades. Detach myself from everything. It doesn't matter what they're fighting for or why they're so angry. What matters is to watch and wait. Observe everything for the moment when Lewis will strike. For the perfect moment when everything aligns.

_It does not matter who you knew that had been hurt by this demon. Caring equals dead weight. Dead weight slows you down. It blinds you._

_Do not make that mistake again._

And then there it is. Antenna girl cannot move fast enough. Most of the others have run out of ammo and are reloading. Lewis is close to the tiny girl, and the attack will be over in the blink of an eye.

Wait. Wait for the perfect moment when he relishes the attack, pausing for just that slight moment when every part of his face sharpens into focus. His claws stab through her stomach, and now, when we make eye contact, is when I strike. One bullet, straight through the eye right above the middle one.

_I'll play your game till the end, even when no one else is there to play with me. Come and get me if you can._

Dash across the rooftops. _Five __minutes remaining._ I leap down when I know Lewis will lose sight of me and quickly dart through the winding alleys, knowing that this demon won't be able to resist playing our dance of death. The ground shakes with the thumping of Lewis's feet.

Must stay away from the children. If they join the fight, they'll only hinder me. _Comrades equal dead weight._ It doesn't matter that Antenna Girl is bleeding out. What matters is finishing this. Fixing my mistake by running away before this demon could be killed. And once I'm finished, my friends can finally rest in peace. And so will I.

Focus. Analyze everything about Lewis. Don't let a single detail escape.

Right now, Lewis is blinded by the thrill of the hunt. He isn't thinking clearly. All he can think about is more. To play the game. Lewis won't question my bait. He's not the predator anymore. I'm in control of the game we play, as long as I keep my head.

Suddenly every part of this village is visible to me. I'm part of the surroundings, one of the cobblestones or the old lamps that can't light anymore. Nothing matters other than the presence of Lewis, who I feel is bewildered and intrigued. That doesn't matter.

_Survive._

That's what Lucas said to me. That's what they've always been saying. That's what I've been doing. That's what I'll keep doing. Holding on.

And there's not a demon in the world that can take that from me. Not even Lewis.

**{No one's POV}**

Said demon scoffs at how narrow the alleys are and how many of them wind behind the houses. This village is a maze all by itself, much more suited for the humans than for demons. Yuugo's taking advantage of it, but it doesn't matter. Lewis will sniff him out anyways, and this time he won't let Yuugo slip past him.

Something about Yuugo stops him from just turning around and killing the poor rabbits trying to regroup. The way he held himself, the way he stared, the way his presence disappeared without Lewis even noticing until the last second, when their eyes met... Shivers rack his body.

_He's finally a predator, isn't he? After all this time..._

Any thoughts about anything else is pushed aside, replaced with the want for more. Life still courses through the demon's veins, and Lewis feels he can do anything at all. The one thing he wants to do, however, is to finish their little game. Catch the sneaky snake inside the village, slithering through the alleys.

Before he can find Yuugo, though, the demon is forced to stop. The trail that he has been following ended. Yet there's no sign of life. Yuugo has, yet again, _vanished_. Nothing left behind, not even a trace of his existence. As if he was chasing merely a ghost.

The bullet in his head says otherwise. Yuugo could've killed him in that moment, finished everything that those children worked so hard to achieve and become their little hero. And yet, _he didn't care_. He didn't end it because he's selfish. The man wants to finish their dance, to let the demon know that he can be bested at his own game; even if the others die because of that. Nothing else matters other than the game they're playing, to finally end this long battle. "Finally!" Lewis cries, spreading his arms out with joy. "At long last, someone's finally managed to lose me completely! And who else other than dear Yuugo?" He needs Yuugo to quench his thirst, to eat the male and satisfy his growing hunger. To finally put the man to rest alongside his fallen comrades. Nobody else is here to claim this meal right in front of him, this delicacy that he had painstakingly created for thirteen years. Now it's finished, this masterpiece, and Lewis fully intends to savor this human.

_More! More!_ Now the demon, very energetic, slashes at the houses in front of him to see if Yuugo's hiding nearby, frowning when the damage isn't as severe as it should have been. _Those little kids, figuring out about my regeneration. Yuugo isn't the only clever one here._ Later he'll enjoy them, but now he has to catch his prize. His trophy, his accomplishment for molding the perfect human. Then he'll finally have the most satisfying hunt in his entire existence.

First, he has to actually find Yuugo, though. The sneaky thing has managed to completely erase his existence from Lewis's heightened senses, something that Lewis hadn't thought possible. That human really has grown into a fully-fledged hunter. Even though there's no sign of this deadly human, he feels no fear of the possible death soon to come. After all, for it to be a real hunt both parties have to put their life on the line. Having two hunters makes the game more interesting.

_Now, time to catch my prey._

**CLICK**

Startled, Lewis spins on the edges of his feet, knowing that this time it really is Yuugo's gun reloading. He doesn't really think about why Yuugo would alert him, only the excitement of his little game. But before he can really see what's going on or think about the implications—

**BANG**

His middle eye is pierced. The demon is falling to the ground; his senses are already failing, and the demon knows he has lost. "Oh, how I love humans," he whispers his final words to the last one standing before him. And then, it's done. The demon is dead.

Yuugo's done it. With the help of everyone else, he's done it. And then the only adult here leaves his predator state and comes to a conclusion from the memory he retains.

_Antenna Girl._


	11. The Aftermath

**{Yuugo's POV}**

For once, I wake up peacefully. No demons roaring in my face, no worries about the poachers. It's... pleasant. Something that soothes the longing, though it's only a moment of respite. Refreshed after such long days of running and worry makes a full night's sleep doable.

After running without any stops or rest for one and a half days straight while carrying a dying Emma on the way back, I think I deserve the few moments of pleasure I get. The world accepts it for once, and I'm allowed a few tranquil moments of joy, with nothing but comforting silence.

Then I see the words scrawled upon the walls and reality finally starts to claw its persistent way back. Stretching my refreshed muscles as I slowly lose the good feeling, I head for the bathroom and walk past the rooms still filled with sleeping children. The silence makes for a wonderful walk, and I can almost believe that there's nobody else here.

Once I'm finished brushing my teeth and somehow wrestling my hair into a somewhat-workable bird's nest, it's time to walk back to my room and sink back into my sheets, unmoving until he comes back. Without the children's idol running about and instead in bed asleep (due to blood loss), they follow her example and sleep in just a tiny bit more, enough time for me to eat breakfast, retreat back into my little room of despair and plan a way to keep Lucas away from it.

_Don't let him see._

The kitchen has its clean knives, stored away like always. Prissy-Eyes learned her lesson and didn't touch Hilda's little stash of goodies, something that, at the same time, lifts my heart with joy and sinks it with... guilt? The remorse is a normal feeling by now, so I can't even notice how I feel until I notice something off about the joy.

However, I just shrug it off for now, keeping _those_ thoughts at bay for the time being. Not this early in the day. That child means nothing to me, and she did deserve it. Maybe not to that extreme, but she should learn not to poke her nose in someone else's stuff, especially when they're dead. In fact, all the children seem to lack that trait. I'll have to confront Ray about that, since Emma will be out of commission for some time.

Already feeling the migraine come on, I push the annoying thoughts out and try to figure out what I want for breakfast. In the end, however, all I get from the kitchen is my broken teacup, shattered beyond belief and unusable. Yet I can't part with it. I can't part with them. Even after all this time trying to escape them, I still return to the shelter. I still come back for them, even if they are my hallucination.

Armed with only my precious teacup, I stealthily enter my room without the children opening their doors. Closing it, I'm left with only myself. This is the second day I've done this, and the children might start to worry. If they care for me at all. But I have to learn to ignore everyone still in here.

I have to learn how to act normal enough. Then, and only then, will I be able to face Lucas. So I lock the door and try to drown out the silence of them waiting for me to join the tea party. And then when I do, they are suddenly animated, filling the room with their loud voices.

But the hard part isn't ignoring their presence. I did that a few days when I couldn't stomach the amount of rotting they would undergo sometimes. No, the hard part is trying to keep them from talking to me.

Ever since I met Lucas again and knew that he was still alive, all of the others can see me. Like, they _see_ me now, holding my hands and pulling me into their conversations. It feels nice. Suddenly, I can see us all sitting in my room for once, having the tea party here because Lucas tried and failed to make breakfast again. And they're so happy to be with me. So happy to see me.

Like they can't see the traitor. Only me, the one that they believed in all those years ago. It's hard not to embrace that, to talk back and enjoy their love while I still can.

I shake my head, trying to ignore the hands that feel real, like Lucas's hand. Trying to ignore their voices that sound so real, like Lucas's voice. Unlike him, _they're not real_. There's no point in talking to the wall and pretending that it's Walter or Damian when it really isn't. All it will do is freak Lucas out. I don't want him to run away, or look at me with pity, or see how broken I truly am.

He'll feel guilty when it's _me_ who's the murderer.

Yet whenever I finally focus on what's real and what's not, their hands pull me right back into the hallucination. The nightmare of their faces slowly rotting. The dream of finally being with them again. The realization that they're not real and pulling away, only to be dragged right back to where I started.

Nothing's changed, not since I first started seeing them. I excuse myself and unlock the door, hurrying to the bathroom and locking myself in. Only then do I heave into the toilet, habitual at this point rather than necessary since I haven't eaten anything for some time. There's no use trying to ignore them. Nothing's changed except that there's more people around, more people that will see how broken I am.

**knock knock**

"Yuugo?" The breath is knocked right out of me. _Lucas?_ He knocks again. "Are you in there?" No, it can't be him. It can't be. It's only the second day. They won't be here for another three weeks at least, probably even longer. It's not real. It's not real.

"Breakfast is ready," Bean Head's voice calls out to everyone, and I can finally breathe. I was right. It was just a hallucination. Lucas isn't here yet. He's still in the forest with all of the other children soon to arrive at the shelter.

Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any better.

Once I hear every child chattering away in the dining hall, I sneak into my room and shut the door, resigning myself to the hallucinations again. Now they're sulking, on the verge of tears. When they see me, all of that goes away. And I know why.

They aren't happy to see me and sad when I'm gone. They miss Lucas and don't want me to feel that. They don't feel happy; they're just pretending. Playing make-believe.

Coming to that realization, I snuggle back into my bed and cover myself with the sheets, and I refuse to listen to any of them calling out for me. I refuse to get up when the children begin to knock on my door, calling out for me. My hallucinations beg me to at least respond, but I will not. It's not real. The children don't care. _My own friends_ don't care. It'll just bring me deeper into the nightmare to respond. Just hold out until Lucas returns.

Don't die yet.

**{Time skip}**

The next week is much the same. I don't eat much if anything, and I stay hidden inside my small room, trying to cover up the walls somehow. Past me was a little too smart for his own good, for he managed to keep everything from washing away so it would last. My suffering is permanently on the walls, blatantly there for everyone to see. To judge me.

To let everyone know the failure I am.

I leave the room only for one thing other than to go to the bathroom in the morning and at night, and it's to take a shower. Food and water is something I frequently forget. A lot. Noticeably, my friends are now worried, one of them hanging around by my side even when the children are banging on the door and spooking everyone else into hiding.

At least that's something I can be grateful to the children for.

It's becoming difficult to ignore both the children and my friends. Sometimes, if the children bang their tiny fists against the door frantically enough, my friends come back and plead for me to open the door. To go and eat something, just to keep myself from turning into a skeleton before Lucas gets here. That almost gets me out of bed, but I'm too tired to get up anymore. The energy for that's gone the moment I wake up and read their names aloud.

I know it's bad for me to become lazy, especially when I'm trying to survive in this harsh world as an _adult_, but it's not my fault that I have no energy. The children trying to unlock the door and my own friends screaming at me to open it gives me a migraine and splits my head open. I hate it. I hate the sounds. They won't let me sleep anymore.

So one day, when the children do their daily routine now of knocking on the door, I relent to my furious hallucinations tearing my head apart and open it, surprising the small children on the other side. Upon looking at my face the children run, prompting me to go to the bathroom first thing and see exactly how I look like now.

To say I'm horrifying is an understatement.

I look like my dead friends but without the rotting. Right now I'm a walking corpse. Kind of. At least I'm not thin enough to the point that I look like a starved man, but I'm getting there. The hunger faded away a long time ago, and thirst is a background noise at this point. Sometimes I forget to drink water until my throat starts to burn with every swallow.

My head hurts. Taking the time to wash my face, I walk out only to find Prissy-Eyes—no, _Gilda_ standing right outside the door. Her eyes widen at the sight of me, but nothing else really shows her discomfort. Must have taken a lot of practice the past two weeks or so to make herself less of an open book. Keeping the children from being nervous or frightened. Such a caring older sister.

I move to the side, giving her access to the bathroom in case she was waiting outside to use it before leaving. Of course, that isn't the case and I know it, so feeling her small hand wrap around my wrist isn't very surprising. My voice, unused to speaking over the past six days, cracks a bit when I ask, "What do ya want?" It's gruff and not exactly friendly; however, I'm not keen on being friends when they keep banging on my door. Or is that just in my head?

Dragged out of my thoughts _again_, Gilda responds. "You need to eat. I'm not going to let anyone die in this shelter." And she's trying so hard to pull me with her leg still not completely healed from the knife that I can't help to allow her to drag me along for the ride. Regret is what keeps me from snapping at her, along with the nagging fatigue.

And maybe because I hope that this is real, that someone actually does care enough to keep me alive. That it's not my brain tricking me into a horrible dream again.

So when we arrive at the dining hall, the stares from the children aren't something I focus on that much. I'm too tired to really pay attention or care anymore. Softly guiding me to a seat, Gilda and Don, the two eldest siblings that are conscious, scurry about to give not only me but the other children their meal for today. This time, it isn't Hilda's soup but one that Gilda must've made herself. And the temperature is cool enough to eat but still warm enough to be tasty.

I'm not really hungry, but I don't want to go back on an empty stomach lest I get yelled at again by my friends and possibly Gilda. Because it will at least soothe the children's fears a little bit—I don't care for them, I just don't want my door to break—I scoop up a spoonful of soup. The smell of food makes me nauseous, so I slowly swallow the soup, careful to get every bit of taste I can from it. It will be the only spoonful I have before I can't eat anymore. Might as well make it count, right?

It tastes fine. Perhaps tasty, but definitely not delicious. Only Hilda has that right, with her cookies that I had been saving only for the children to eat it all and touch her stuff without caring—

Calm down. All that'll do is make my migraine worse.

Getting up, I thank Gilda for the meal in my head—even though I had only a spoonful of soup—and retreat back into my room. The door closes with a final creak, and I stay in there for the rest of the day, ignoring Gilda's pleas for me to come out. It's just another hallucination. One that I have to learn to ignore.

So I do.

**{Time skip}**

Another week passes with nothing really changing. I go to use the bathroom, take a shower every few days, and then hide in my room to teach myself to ignore the illusions attempting to ensnare me every moment of the day. I joined the children for breakfast for one or two more days before retreating back into myself. I reject the idea of bonding with the children, interacting with them as little as possible.

_Just one more week left._

Today, Gilda must've been fed up, for after I return from the bathroom she's standing there with Don, her face bright red with anger. Before I can protest, both of them grab my wrists and tug on my arms. Weak from not only fatigue but also the massive headache, I don't really fight them until they try to spoon feed me. Hell no.

It takes a bit, but I manage to get away and hide in my refuge. The only part of the shelter where I can grieve without any limits. My little sanctuary. None of the children can taint this little room more than I have. It's the only place where I truly can be what remains of me.

It gets lonely, yes. More so when I'm training to ignore the friends that have stayed with me throughout the thirteen years of solitude and isolation. But it's still been there for me. And all of their names are etched into the walls, forever claiming this place as _our_ sanctuary. Not just mine, although I'm the only one alive to use it.

For now, anyways.

Just one more week. One more week of this nightmare until Lucas is here. With even more children.

How long will this horrid dream last?

**{Time skip}**

Over two days pass before I finally exit my refuge and come out for dinner. My stomach decided it wanted food and suddenly cramped up from hunger. That drove me out. The green-haired girl seems pleased that I finally came out, offering me a smaller meal than the rest. Probably because my stomach won't be able to handle too much yet.

And this time she sits right beside me, running her tongue off and giving me some space. It kinda soothes the fear that has settled. Hearing the children's voices keeps _their_ voices away. The children keep me grounded in reality.

That's why I return to the dinner table the next day. Surely not because I'm lonely or because I enjoy their presence. No, it's just so I know that what I'm seeing is real. That's all I need right now.

Sometime later in the third week, I decide to give Gilda the book. A show of gratitude for at least trying to help me even if I don't deserve it.

**{Time skip}**

Today's the day. Lucas has finally come back home. My hands shake with dread. What if he sees straight through me? What if I can't continue to ignore the antics of my—_our_ friends, eager to reunite with Lucas as badly as I am? What if he sees my room? What will he think about his room remaining fairly untouched, only cleaned up a few days before his arrival?

To be fair, I wanted to make Lucas feel as comfortable as possible. I cleaned up a bit around our hallway, just to make it a bit easier for Lucas to wander around without inhaling all the dust. He doesn't deserve that sort of pain, or any pain at all. He's always been so kind, so selfless. To the point where his own limbs had been ripped off and he stills smiles at the one who did it.

The least I can do for him is to not run away. Not this time.

I regret that thought the moment Lucas enters the shelter. With only one adult (me) that they've met that isn't with the demons, all the children scramble up to see him, already telling that Lucas is much more friendly than I. They're so eager to see him, yet they hesitate when their eyes land on the lack of an arm and leg. Of course, Lucas manages to evaporate that hesitation simply by being himself, used to having to cheer up so many younger children in the depths of despair. His momentary distractions makes it very difficult for me to stay there, doubting myself with every second that passes.

Maybe I am wrong to believe that Lucas will still be my friend. After all, I am the reason he lost two of his limbs. Maybe he hates me. I don't deserve any second chances. He probably knows that, too. I should just leave.

When Gilda finally meets Lucas and starts talking, his warm smile morphs into a small frown. It's so wrong on his face. With all the side glances he gives me, it's blatantly clear that they're talking about my... _habits_. I wish I can melt into the floor, or escape through the exits, or just not care about what Lucas thinks. He'll know _everything_ about me, and the thought twists my stomach.

Yet even with all those thoughts, my legs stubbornly stand in place, waiting for the children to finally leave with the others like their bubbly, cheery social selves. A lot of the newbies head to the med bay, with the entire crowd of children following like tiny ducklings. I would find it cute if it doesn't mean that now Lucas has no other distractions to talk to. Now this means that I have to talk to Lucas.

He'll see right through me.

Thankfully my hallucinations back off for the moment, releasing my mind from their endless torture for the time being. Dina laughs when I don't make the first move, a soft jingle that calms me a bit. "Go on, Lucas won't bite," she giggles, and then she leaves with the others not far behind.

And then I'm left with Lucas.

It's scary, talking to Lucas. Knowing that he is judging me, comparing me to my old self. That I'm doing the same thing. And nothing really changed in Lucas. Is he actually real right now? Or is this another trick?

When he hugs me tightly with his remaining arm, my entire mind just short circuits. What should be comforting only smothers me. Claws are wrapping around my throat, growing tighter and tighter until I push Lucas away from me. Sweet air rushes into my throat once Lucas is no longer choking me.

Then I see the hurt and bewilderment on Lucas's fade. It dawns on me what I just did to him. It was just a hug. One from Lucas. I should be hugging him back, craving the contact that I almost died for multiple times ever since I left Goldy Pond. Lucas has never done anything to me to be treated like this.

What's wrong with me?

One of the Goldy Pond children calls out for Lucas, sparing me from further embarrassment. I tell him, "Go. I won't be leaving anytime soon." My heart cracks just a bit more when Lucas trusts my lie and heads over to our tiny little hospital, trusting that I'm telling the truth even after I pushed him away in fear. Still trusting me. He really is the same.

I can't take it anymore. Abandoning my spot on the ground, I fall back to my room where everyone is playing cards. Tuning out their voices is simpler now. As I lay down on my bed, the image of Lucas looking around for me once he notices I'm gone is what keeps me from trying to get shut-eye. I lied to him. Lucas.

Out of all the people in the world, I lied to _him_.

What a shitty person I am.

"Is everything alright?" Dina's voice is the only one that still gets me to pause, to believe every lie that comes out of her mouth. "Yuugo?" She's not real. It's all just a trick. Lucas is the only survivor. He's the only one that's real.

Her hand settles on my shoulder. My blood runs cold. "Don't worry, you'll get to the human world. For us, right?" And it hurts to smile back at her.

The pain grows when I agree. "Of course. I'll get there and I'll come back and tell ya everything that happens." Dina's face starts to rot, like it always does, and her eyes are blank. Like dead fish. It finally happened. Just took some time before they got another promise to dangle over my head.

Her shriveled hand is removed, and she joins the others sitting on the floor, laughing as always. Even though their flesh peels off their bones, they still laugh. The noise rings in my ears, high and painful.

It's a wonder that I manage not to strangle them until I can't.

**{Time skip}**

A few days later, Emma wakes up. I sit outside the room. Lucas is in there. There's no way I can face him now since I lied to him.

Some part of me wants to at least stay until Emma wakes up and forgets about me. Enjoy the children I have grown a bit closer to cheering as the small bundle of joy wakes up. The other one says that I don't deserve to watch this, that I should've just died the moment I entered the shelter without them. That it's not too late to do so now. Conflicting emotions keeps me rooted to the ground.

"Where's Mister?" The dreaded question stiffens my body; my body still hasn't decided whether or not I should go.

Gilda settles the dispute for me, ushering me inside with her determined expression that I've memorised by now. Beams of joy from all the children pushes aside Lucas's stare for now. Annoyingly, the children cluster around my legs, making it almost impossible for me to move around in the sea of nats. Clearing my throat does nothing to prevent my voice from squeaking a bit as I yell, "Damned brats, grow up already!" Thankfully the children giggle and let go, yet they still refuse to calm down.

Her small frame shivers underneath the thin sheet; nevertheless, Emma still sits up and grins at me, an actual genuine grin. Knowing that every one of these children somehow have a little spot in their tiny beating hearts for me should reassure me, so that's what I tell myself. I feel fine because these children are happy for me. The brats are happy, so I should be happy, right? Even though I feel bad. It's just a phase—hopefully.

"Here, let's start over. I'm Emma." Said girl cheerfully introduces herself, gesturing to her tiny body. Then her hands wave at my general direction. "And you are?"

"Yuugo," I spit out. The taste of my name resides heavily on my tongue, more foul than any curse or insult. Everything hovers just behind it, waiting to hit me with all the horror-filled screams calling out that horrid name. "It's Yuugo."

Warm smiles are not something I deserve, yet the small girl continues to treat me well. As if I am not a traitor. "It's nice to meet you, Yuugo... sir," Emma says, pronouncing my name rather carefully in a polite tone. This is something I can get used to.

I don't deserve. But I might as well enjoy the company, the things that can only exist in reality. Keep myself from drowning. I do have a promise to the others that I have to keep.

All things considered, I stand there and allow Emma to grasp tightly onto my hand. Or is it the other way around? Either way, it's nice to have human contact, just for a brief moment.

At last the small, snotty brats in here finally do things right and surge out the door to Gilda's call for dinner, keeping Lucas at bay long enough for me to slip away. Slinking into my room requires more energy than I usually exert to get here, and the once heavenly sanctuary that I couldn't wait to get back to now churns my stomach with every breath of stale, rotten air. Nobody sees me anymore, and I welcome it. With their skeletal bodies, there's no way I can even look at them without shaking from... some nasty feeling slithering through my gut. There's nowhere else to go, though. Nowhere else to run to when I can't take the children's kindness anymore.

I sit down on my bed, cherishing the familiar shrieks of the metal springs as I sink down further. At least something about this room stays safe. When the pillow covers my ears, I welcome the hushed silence, keeping the muted voices that try to keep me awake at bay.

Once the sheets are over my head and the lantern has been snuffed out (the lightbulb broke a long time ago and I'm too lazy to fix it), I snuggle in further and attempt to fall asleep.

**{Time skip}**

I couldn't sleep last night. Every time I close my eyes, I hear them screaming. I feel Lewis stuffing their flesh down my throat, telling me that I need to eat more. Lucas cries out as Lewis tears his limbs away, somehow escaping and surviving because of some _stupid_ promise he made to me. Because of me. Suffering because he still cares for a coward that _abandoned_ him.

The nightmare never really kept me awake until now, and then suddenly my room suffocates me, tightening its hold around my neck like a noose until I leave. The safe room no longer feels like my bleeding heart. It's like a beast, wrapping its paws around my throat and squeezing until there's nothing left. For once, I actively bolt out of the room, scaring Gilda and Don, the alarms for the children.

Lucas, as he was never a morning person, might still be fast asleep, so maybe I'll avoid him for today. Yet as I walk past the med bay, I can't help but peak inside and see if Emma's doing alright. There's a big chance Lucas is in there, but I just can't _not_ check up on the young girl. Thankfully Lucas isn't in the med bay. Emma's still asleep; must not be an early bird despite her energetic personality.

Now an even bigger gaggle of children and teens look up to her now. In my shelter.

Maybe one day I'll be ready to leave this place.

After I manage to eat almost half a plate of my breakfast—a record for me nowadays—I head back to my room with a knife. To calm myself down if I really need to. Then I freeze in the middle of the hallway.

Lucas hasn't noticed me yet, his hand resting on the doorknob. The doorknob to my room.

_Don't let him see._

"Don't go in there!" Startled, Lucas twists his head and stares at me, and I can almost taste the fear between the both of us. It doesn't matter. He hasn't seen it yet. "Ya can't." My voice cracks from the fear rising within me, bubbling up to the surface and popping just underneath my skin.

Lucas turns to face me, but he doesn't let go of the handle. Maybe from shock? I don't know. "Isn't this your room, though?" All I do know is that he's not supposed to be here.

He's not supposed to see that place.

"Stay away from it," I snap, unable to tear my eyes away from the handle and his hand. He can't know. Even if Lucas doesn't understand now, even if Lucas is hurt from the way I growl at him, I can't let him down. Not again. Not in that way.

Lucas pulls his hand away from the handle, but I can't breathe. He's still by my door. Everything else falls dead silent. The knife weighing down in my sweaty palms is close to falling out of my grip. "I just wanted to talk. I wanted to apologize for scaring you. For making you uncomfortable." The tremor in Lucas's voice is unmistakeable. "I'm scared you don't forgive me for leaving you all alone. I'm sorry." Pools of water gather in Lucas's eyes, and my heart drops to the floor.

_I'm scaring him. I'm making him stress over NOTHING._

Now the knife clatters to the floor, missing my foot by a few centimeters. It sounds so far away. Lucas starts to move towards me. "Stop!" I cry. Unable to meet his hurt gaze, I look down at his foot. His one foot and a crutch.

"Yuugo?" Hearing my name only tightens the invisible noose. Lucas sounds so terrified and concerned, not knowing how to help. I'm making him like this. Looking at his face only confirms how much I've hurt him. How confused he is.

_"Go on, Lucas won't bite."_

"You can't." Why is my mouth so dry? My palms are too sweaty. Focus on the floor. "I can't let ya... You just can't go in there." My tongue is so heavy, stumbling over the words that should be easy to form.

Why do I feel this way? Lucas came back. He's here now. I'm not alone anymore in my suffering. I should be happy.

Why can't I pretend anymore?

His hand lowers, falling to his side. Now Lucas is looking down in shame. "I'm sorry."

A heavy tongue keeps me from explaining why _I_ should be the one apologizing, not Lucas. _Nothing's going the way I want it to. I just wanted to die and finally join you all in the afterlife, after so many years of suffering alone in this goddamn shelter. Why does it have to be so hard for me to die, too?!_

Lucas's mouth hangs open, eyes wide with horror. Covering my own gaping mouth, I try to take back the words I just said. The ones that I didn't mean to say aloud. Any other words that attempt to come out are only smothered by what still hangs between the two of us. By what I wanted to hide.

Lucas takes a step back in what must be disgust.

And then my legs finally burst into action. Although I can run now, there's no escape from this anymore. No way to wriggle out like all the times before. No way to avoid the looks of pity or horror. Without an escape, the walls constrict further, sucking the air out. The hideous shelter takes a step further, the winding hallways growing longer and harder to reach.

Why can't I just be better now? Why couldn't I at least pretend for Lucas's sake?

Climbing up the ladder, I leave the shelter through one of the hidden exits, unable to stay there any longer. Lucas won't come after me, not after what I just said. He's still too shocked and horrified. No way he'd come after someone as sick as me.

_Don't look back. Not after what you've done._

Armed with only a knife, I do what I do best. Run.

**Dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!**

**That was bad and not at all what I expected. But I'll keep it anyways.**


	12. Don’t Go Outside

**So, I finally decided to check my story and see what has happened and I gotta say I'm shooketh. Not only is there people that actually favorited my story and bookmarked it and stuff, but there's also reviews about it! I never expected people to actually pay attention to my story, and the reviews warmed my heart with how sincere they sound. Like, someone actually spent the time to review on what was supposed to be a one-shot that I decided to make into a multi-chapter story. God, I read the two reviews over and over because I couldn't believe that someone actually thought my story was good.**

**QuestRunner, you made my days. Not just one day, but MULTIPLE days. Right now, I still enjoy rereading your reviews because it makes me sooo happy to see that someone actually enjoys my story. I practically forgot about this story for a while until recently, so seeing someone like you reading it really brings me up. And your compliments make me feel as if my mom told me I cooked a meal PERFECTLY! I don't know how to describe it otherwise. It makes me feel so good reading your reviews! Thank you for making me so happy!**

**And to those that liked my story but didn't review, you guys still made the past few days feel like a dream! Thank you so much! Every single one of you!**

**The weird thing is that I got no notification about it, so I was NOT expecting that to happen. I just wanted to see how it looked format-wise, so you guys really caught me off guard. Anyways, I'm going to try and keep it up for you guys, but I'm not sure I can actually pull it off. Wish me luck!**

**{No one's POV}**

After Mister came back with Emma, Gilda noticed a lot had changed with him. Just over those six days that he had been gone, Mister's personality changed drastically. Suddenly he started isolating himself and was locked in his room for the entire day instead of walking around like he owned the place (which he did until they moved in). She never really saw him, just knew that he was either in the bathroom or his room. She didn't really mind on the first day, giving the man the space that he seemed to need.

On the second day, Gilda began to worry. Mister had not eaten anything. Nothing from the food stock was missing, and Gilda had recounted for the hundredth time just to make sure. Nothing was gone. And when she knocked on his door, trying to get him to come out, he wasn't listening. There was no key to open the door with, so she was forced to wait until Mister decided to come out.

But he didn't. An entire week passed and he still didn't come out. Even the smaller children took notice that Mister wasn't leaving anymore. They also began to plead with Mister, begging him to at least come out and eat something. Yet there was no sound from inside.

The only way Gilda could ever tell that Mister was alive was when someone other than the children took a shower or entered the bathroom every day. Mister was still alive and hopefully drinking some water, but Gilda knew that he would not survive long without some food inside of him. She checked with the children, making sure that they knew exactly what might happen to Mister if he didn't come out and eat something.

If it wasn't for Don, Gilda would've stopped trying to get Mister to come out in that first week. He always brightened everyone's day, taking Emma's spot as cheerleader for the time being. Everyone was grateful to him for keeping up their spirit. "Don't worry, Mister will come out sooner or later. And we'll have food ready for him!" Then Gilda agreed, though she had doubts.

One day, the youngest trio of the bunch ran up to her screaming and crying yet bouncing on their heels. "Mister! He's out!" one cried out, calming down enough to be intelligible. "He came out and he was so thin! He's so scary!" The other two nodded their heads, wailing with worry and fear. With Don sprouting up out of nowhere to comfort the three and also take care of breakfast, Gilda had the time to patiently wait outside of the bathroom, mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

She wasn't expecting Mister to come out and look so... vulnerable. When they first met him, Mister terrified all of them by being intimidating and fearless and violent. But at the time he was so thin and tired, barely standing on both feet. Once Mister saw her, though, the mask came back on.

Even though Mister was so mean to the children, somehow he just kinda grew on them as the days went by. How Gilda wasn't sure why. All Mister did was push them away and snap at them. Despite all of that, the young girl allowed Mister to pass by again, rooted in her spot. Why should she help that man? He can make his own decisions.

He did stab her in the leg. Why should she care?

Gilda shook her head, mentally scolding herself for almost just leaving the man in his misery. Emma would not let him die if she was awake, so she couldn't back down either. That man was going to eat something, even if he didn't want to.

That's how Gilda ended up knocking on his door every day, not giving up until he at least responded. One or two times he opened up and ate something, though it was only a few bites at most. Still, it made Gilda just a little happier to know that Mister wasn't too keen to kick the bucket. It amazed her that he could still function with no food in his system for that long and barely a few bites of breakfast for an entire week.

And to her joy, on the third week Mister finally came out for dinner. He even helped cook once, handing Gilda the book that he stabbed her over. In return, Gilda chatted with him, having observed long before that simple interactions with the man calmed him down, made him less jittery. Soon enough Mister came out often enough that Gilda could finally feel comfortable with how the man ate. Sometimes he even played with the smaller children or sat beside Gilda and Don to simply enjoy a moment of silence with the two. He'd never admit any of that, though.

Everyone was happy. Everything was _perfect_. Emma would be proud.

Today all that hard work just crumbled to the ground.

It shouldn't have. Ray just arrived home. All the children found some friends to hang out with, to talk and listen to. Even Gilda managed to make a friend, someone named Violet that she instantly clicked with. Emma woke up and brought Mister—no, Yuugo—a tad bit closer to their group. It should have just kept going up and up. It might have, too.

If it wasn't for the other adult, Lucas.

She told him about what was happening to Mister, hoping that he would have an idea. According to Ray, he was one of Mister's friends that had actually survived in Goldy Pond for the past thirteen years. He didn't know what was wrong either, and Gilda could only hope that everything would work out. That Lucas would help Mister fully recover and move on, if only by a little bit.

She should've seen the signs when she was knocking on Mister's door again, pleading with him to come out after his talk with Lucas. Emma was going to wake up soon, and Gilda didn't want her to potentially ruin everything that she worked so hard for. His friend had already done a good job so far. But Mister stayed silent the rest of the day, retreating back into his old habits. Gilda didn't speak with the only other adult for the rest of the day. For some reason, a swirl of anger coiled up in her like a snake every time she saw him.

She ignored it. After all, it was Lucas. Everyone felt safe around him; however, Gilda couldn't bring herself to talk to him past the unwarranted anger.

So she didn't.

And then a day or two after Emma woke up for the first time in a few weeks, he got up early and went to the kitchen without any prompting from any of the children. Gilda should've known that something was up, but all she could see was Mister feeling better and getting out of bed for once. Taking care of himself now without any reminders. Maybe Lucas did something right and she was being angry over nothing. Wouldn't be the first time this happened.

Still, a cold sweat washed over her after Mister left for his room. Chilling every part of her, even her bones. Everything just clicked into place without any knowledge of why she felt this way. Nothing more needed to be told to Gilda. _Something bad has happened._

And after everyone searched for Mister throughout the entire shelter, Gilda knows. She knows exactly what had occurred.

"He's _gone_!" The shriek cracks a bit at the end, but she doesn't care about her image at the moment. Mister's gone now. He left the shelter, the one place he had tried so desperately to protect. And there's only one person that can possibly be the cause. The child glares at Lucas behind her glasses. "What the hell did you do?!"

To his credit, the last adult shamefully looks down at the floor, his hand twirling around in a way that the young girl has seen in her younger siblings. A sign of guilt. Gilda stomps her foot on the floor and huffs to try and keep herself mad at Lucas, ignoring the flare of pain shooting up her leg and how frustrated she feels at how _wrong_ everything is now that Mister left.

"What made _Yuugo_ so angry that he left the shelter that he's been in _for thirteen years_?" Lucas has to actually process hearing his name again after so long. Irritating practically every child, Lucas refused to give out his name to respect Mister's privacy and fragile boundaries. He was just as surprised as the rest when Mister said his name aloud, though the man made it painfully obvious he hated hearing his name. Something that Lucas—rather everyone—respects. If Gilda hadn't known that they came from the same human farm, she would've never been able to tell that the two were related to each other at all. Not that anyone here _is_ related, but she never would've guessed that Lucas grew up with_ Mister_ of all people with how respectful and clean he is.

"I just wanted to talk to him," the last adult mutters sadly, his shoulders drooping. His posture deflates further, and the sight pulls at Gilda's heartstrings. "To apologize for leaving him the last thirteen years. I was going to enter his room because I thought he would be there, but he freaked out as soon as he saw me."

_Ah, I see now._ The poor guy had no idea how Mister reacts when someone tries to enter his room. He didn't do anything wrong to Mister. It's Gilda's fault for not really explaining the new boundaries and quirks Mister developed over the time that Lucas had been gone.

But it still doesn't change the fact that Mister's gone. That Lucas undid everything Gilda worked so hard to achieve. That Mister is outside with all the demons right now, at night, with only a knife as a weapon and barely any food in his stomach.

Her grip on the fleeting anger releases quickly after that, and Gilda herself deflates with a sigh. At this rate she'll get wrinkles by the age of 15. So much responsibility weighs down on her shoulders that Gilda'll crumble under the pressure if Emma and Don isn't there to help support her. "Well, it's too late to look outside now after spending the entire day searching the shelter, so we'll just have to pray that he doesn't run too far." _Or kill himself_ stays unspoken. Just thinking about Mister by himself makes Gilda scared for his sake. He shouldn't be by himself, lest something terrible happen to Mister; most likely by his own hand.

Looking up at Lucas, the green-haired child realizes that he might also need someone to rely on. Even with all the social contact that Lucas has had, he might also feel the need to just end it all after so long. That he might've also been scared about how Mister might react when he sees him again. Seeing the fear in Mister's face could very well be the tipping point for Lucas. Not really knowing how to comfort the man, Gilda settles for a pat on his arm. "We'll see him again tomorrow. But before then, I might as well let you in on his new quirks so you don't scare him off again." Lucas flinches yet also smiles at that and walks down the corridors with the small girl, who feels guilty after seeing him flinch.

Gilda barely hears the whispered thanks from Lucas. When she hears that, she grins and says, "It's the least I can do." And if Lucas noticed how similar Gilda's soup was to Hilda's that night, he never mentioned it.

**{Yuugo's POV}**

Waking up is a rather strange experience. I experienced vertigo only once, when I escaped the farm with my friends. That dizzyness I got staring down the cliff into the blackness is very similar to the one I'm feeling now when I wake up on a stone branch alone. Just on the edge of the forest, I can overlook most of the desert that hides the shelter. Stretching in a spot of sunlight that had been filtered through the leaves, I clutch my knife hard enough to turn my knuckles white. The remains of a few monsters lay on the floor, evidence of what occured last night. It had been difficult, but I managed to secure this patch of land as my own from the small pack of wild monsters.

The thing that worries me, however, is how few there were. "Demon" packs, as the kids call them, are huge. The numbers do vary, but there are at the very least twenty demons in a pack. Yet this pack only had five, and this is where the packs live, not strays. So something had killed off their fellow demons and terrified the survivors to the point of them running away. After all, if they continued to attack whatever it was they'd be dead. But that never happens. Wild demons don't have any semblance of intellect or fear. All they can feel is hunger. If these demons actually gathered up enough sense to run away, their enemy had to be terrifying.

Perhaps some demons of high standing are lurking about the forest. Doesn't sound too far fetched, considering the children killed some demon nobles a few weeks ago; though the wild demons would never actually fear them, perhaps something happened that finally clicked in the non-existant brain of the survivors. If there are noble demons in the forest, then they must be investigating Goldy Pond and Lord Baron's mansion. In that case, it might be best to leave this part of the forest and head back into the desert. At least demons never venture there.

Yet once I try to leave the forest, the memory of Lucas right next to my room replays in my mind. He must've gone into the room by now and seen everything. No way I can go back now, not when Lucas will look at me with _that_ look on his face. The look of guilt. Even going closer to the shelter makes me shudder with fear.

Maybe I can just hide out here for now. After all, no more demons will try and venture near since this is supposed to be a pack's territory. It won't be safe after a few days, though, since the wild demons will notice a lack of patrols and investigate a little, but it'll do for today.

My stomach is rumbling a little from the lack of breakfast or dinner, and now that my life is in direct danger, there's no way I'm skimping on food. But what should I eat? There's a fruit tree I recall seeing that's not too far away from here; however, it's by the river and a lot of wild demons, regardless of pack territory, like to dangle there for their next meal. I'd rather not leave a trail for the potential high-standing demons to follow, so I can't just go around killing demons. But I don't have a pot or wood, so I'll have to go and get some fruit for an easy meal. Or perhaps I can go and get the water fruit by the tunnels so I don't need to go by the river and risk my neck for water. Then I can search for some fruit that's not by the river.

Lucas reappears in my mind.

What's the point of surviving now when even Lucas hates me? At least I had some sort of hope that he cared before, though I knew I couldn't accept it after what I'd done. Now he's probably disgusted at the thought of me, for he must've entered my room by now, right? And if he did, he'll see how much of a failure I am. Nobody would want to be around me now.

The knife gleams under a spot of sunlight that managed to reach the floor, hinting at a certain kind of freedom. One that has always been at the back of my mind. Lifting the knife up to my neck is a motion that I've practiced multiple times before. Just one slice across the neck and it's over. All the suffering and loneliness will be gone. I'll be able to see my friends again _for real_.

But then I'd leave the children.

I bite back a scream and stab the branch. Fucking coward! Why do I even care about the children? They don't care about me at all, do they? They all must hate me by now, especially when I threatened to kill Emma. And my room is right there for them to see and label me as a coward and a traitor.

_But Emma didn't._

I pause my mental rant. I mean, it is true. She saw me in my room that one time, and she still thinks of me as a good person. In fact, she even read my diary, right? And she _still_ wanted me to stay with them. She even wanted to know my name. Then again, Emma wants to see the best in everyone. I even heard later on that Emma tried to talk Lewis out of fighting her—which was obviously a lost cause.

But there was also Gilda. She didn't want me to die. She enjoyed my presence all those times. She even talked to me because it made me feel a bit better. Or was that just my imagination? No, it wasn't. I'm sure of it. It had to be real, right?

But what if they're all pretending? Like how my friends did. What if they don't really like me? What if they're happy that I'm gone?

My head hurts from trying to think about it. All the inner arguing is splitting my head in two. To silence both halves, I decide not to just end it here. Not because of the children, but because the demons would end up eating my dead body after I die. No way I'm going to let my corpse end up as fodder for these monsters. Especially these wild beasts. And I guess being able to say goodbye to the small brats would be a nice bonus.

After pulling the knife out, I avoid the nearby entrance to the tunnels. I just can't go in there. Not since the last time I've used them...

I turn to the sky, trying to see if there's a big enough gap through the leaves to see the sun. When that doesn't work, I check the angle of the rays that reach the ground. By how little of an angle there is, I'm sure it's noon. Strange for me to sleep in _outside_ of all places. Usually I'm awake before the sun comes up and never in the afternoon.

Climbing down the tree trunk, I come across some water fruit. No matter how many times I drink from these fruits, the water in them never tastes any better. It's not even close to the shelter's water supply, which is cold enough to almost be delicious. Throwing the useless husk aside, now it's time to find fruit trees and wood. Maybe I'll even be able to catch a demonic squirrel creature.

For my meal, all I managed to get is fruit. The demon squirrels are hard to catch with just a knife. Perhaps since I got really lazy and starved myself back at the shelter, I can't catch them that easily anymore. I used to be able to at least catch one with a knife. Then again, with potentially intelligent demons existing in this forest, I shouldn't even try to start a fire for meat. The fruit is fine by itself. It won't taste as good as some other meals I've had, but I'd rather eat something than nothing out here.

When I sit down to eat "brunch" as Gilda calls it, the weird vertigo-like feeling comes back again. Being alone when I eat is something I've truly forgotten. At least either Don or Gilda was in the kitchen when I sat down. Most of the time the kids would be there with me, talking so loud I could hear a conversation clear as day from the other side of the room. Now the lack of chatter is really alien to me.

Though it's weird to say, I do kinda miss the shelter. There it's nice and warm but not too hot or cold, and everyone there enjoys to talk _way_ too much. Something I've come to enjoy from the small brats. (I clearly do not miss those brats, even if I do miss the amount of noise they produce daily.) Nevertheless, I'm not going to go back to the shelter today no matter how much I want to. Not when my words must be fresh in Lucas's mind. I'll go tomorrow.

As I slice a piece of fruit, a scream pierces the thick silence that coats the paralyzed forest. One that's unmistakably a wild demon. Someone must be having a lot of fun torturing them. Well, if the scream is a demon's, there's no point in me checking it out. In fact, I should put some distance between me and the scream's origin. That must be where the intelligent demons are. No way I'm sticking around for them to find me.

I glance in the direction of the screams and then at the desert. Since demons are least likely to enter this barren desert, I can always go there. But if they catch even one breath of my scent, I'll endanger the shelter by drawing them there. I refuse to even minutely expose the shelter. The trees aren't exactly secure, though, so the only place left...

...are the tunnels.

I can still smell John's blood on me as I ran through the darkness. Ugh, what a horrible stench that was. No, no way I'm going in there. Never again. Before it was necessary, and I could pretend nothing was wrong because Ray was there. But I'd rather fight the Queen herself than go into those tunnels alone.

My nose scrunches up as the smell doesn't go away. Weird how strong the odor is, too. Usually it'd just be a faint hint, but now it's so coppery I can almost taste it. And it smells like... like... I whirl around in terror, glancing around to catch a trace of them. I know they're nearby.

After all, it smells like demon blood.

**Dun dun duuuuuun! Suuuuuper scary! I hope I got Yuugo down pat this time, but I don't know if it's actually as good this time like the last chapter. When he's in the shelter I feel I can go all in with his personality, but when he's outside I feel like his survival instinct has to come out as well meaning that his personality goes on the back burner. I hope the chapter was to your liking!**

**I still feel giddy at how I revealed the attackers. Referencing John and then Yuugo realizes it isn't human blood he smells just makes me so happy to read! Hopefully you guys have the same reaction. I don't know, but I did like writing this chapter. The suicidal part felt kinda rushed, but I don't like writing about that too much. Referencing it I can do, but actually writing out him thinking about it just gives me chills. And not the good kind. Sorry!**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and I'll be posting another chapter hopefully soon. If I don't die first.**


	13. Hunter Or Hunted?

**Seriously, I feel like I'm about to explode because of how nice the new review makes me feel! God dang it I feel like exploding from happiness. Maybe not the right thing to do, but my happiness seriously overwhelmed me for a while. I wanted to scream and felt like my heart was going to stop permanently. Like, I'm being serious here. Today I tried cooking and I couldn't flatten out some dough balls right. I truly cried because I felt like I couldn't do anything. Then I finally managed to do it and my self esteem came back up. And then I came on to see the new review for me! That burst my self esteem through the roof! Like, how do these words make me feel so good?! After posting the new chapter, I really did wait to see if there was a new review and then it came and made me feel like I could take on the world and then some! How do words like this make me so happy?! (Not that I'm complaining of course. Quite the opposite!)**

**TL;DR The new review made me feel really good about myself and I want to write more. So I'm going to try my hand at this new chapter and see where it goes.**

**Unfortunately I'm making things up as I go so I truly have no idea what I'm going to do with this chapter or who the intruders are going to be. Like I just let my fingers fly for the storyline and then go back to make the chapter longer and more realistic. Right now as I'm writing these notes I'm just as clueless as the readers as to what's going to happen now. I just gotta write and hope everything makes sense later. If it doesn't, then you know why.**

**Anyways, enjoy! Or not, if it's bad.**

**Because of the nice reviews I got, I decided that I'm going to try and get out of my comfort zone by writing from another character's POV. I usually don't feel as comfortable writing someone else other than Yuugo, but I kinda want to try and see how it goes.**

**{Lucas's POV}**

Sleep evaded me last night, for thoughts about how I could've handled things differently with Yuugo plagued me without end. Is this how he felt when I forced him to run away without me? Not knowing whether or not I'm alive?

My eyes drift over my belongings lazily, things that I used to care about. I still do, but not nearly as much anymore after being away for so long. Everything's just as messy as I remember leaving it that fateful day. Some remnants of dust cling onto the surface of everything. Evidence of how Yuugo treated this room while I was gone. Just thinking about how I left him tightens the knot forming.

Getting out of bed hurts like nothing else. The comfort of it almost lures me back to just lay there, but the thought of the children still depending on me to be there helps. When I walk past Yuugo's room, I don't give it more than a long look. Something's in there that he doesn't want me to see, and if I knew about his fear, he might've stayed. If I didn't press him, Yuugo would still be here and safe. Respecting his privacy is the one thing I can do for him now.

When I enter the kitchen, it's all too easy to see Hilda in front of the stove asking for help and Damian half-asleep at the table. Instead there's Gilda cooking with more children running around like crazy. I could offer help, but there's not much I can do with my remaining arm. So I sit down and watch the children roll around wrestling with each other or cleaning up the beds. The older teens interact with each other, children that I've had the pleasure of standing by for the past thirteen years. Some of which are still injured.

If I hadn't lost my limbs, would I have been able to keep them safe?

After breakfast, a team was decided upon that would go out and search for Yuugo. The ones from Gracefield, Emma and Ray, was a given. Surprisingly, Gilda also volunteered to search for Yuugo. However, she ultimately got rejected for Gilda had no experience fighting demons in general. At least she was considered. I, of course, can't go outside to look for him since I'm lacking a few limbs.

If I had been stronger or smarter when I was younger, my limbs wouldn't be gone. I'd be able to follow Yuugo wherever he goes. I'd be able to protect him. I'd be able to help. I'd be able to kill demons like all the others. No, I'd be able to protect them enough that they'd never need to kill demons.

But I can't do these things. Not anymore.

As I sit there, Gilda prepares some tea. The smell is a faint memory, so distant I can barely recall it. A memory where I did protect my friends. Where Yuugo and I _both_ protected them from harm. Now...

Gilda sits down a few chairs away and covers most of her face with her green locks of hair. Since it's a bob, however, I can still spot the tears as they reach her jaw and drip down like sparkles. A knot twists around in my chest at the sight of her crying. I move closer to her, close enough I can hug her with my remaining arm and give the poor child a shoulder to cry on. Gilda gladly takes it. Her small body shakes from silent sobs.

When she finishes, a scowl is plastered on her face. "Why can't I go after Mister, too?" she mutters angrily. Her glasses are lopsided, but Gilda doesn't seem to notice or care. "I know I'm considered weak because I've never fought a demon before, but I want to help Mister come back! Probably more than the others do! So why do they still insist that I'm too weak to go?" Seeing this side of her reminds me of my own thoughts in Goldy Pond. I knew why I couldn't go out and help the kids, but it didn't make it any easier.

What usually helped at least a bit is knowing that I helped support the children mentally and trained them on how to kill the demons and survive to the best of their ability. The knowledge that I at least had a part to play kept my spirit up. Since Gilda seems to have a similar thought process, I decide to attempt this strategy.

With 13 years of experience encouraging children, it's easy to know where to start. "Because they know you're needed here." At this Gilda looks up. This'll be a bit easier since she's actually listening. "Why do you think Emma and Ray entrusted this shelter to you when they left? They know you're capable here. Without you here, would Don be able to take care of the entire shelter on his own?" The green-haired child ponders for a moment to answer this question. In the end, she shakes her head reluctantly.

"No, he wouldn't," she sighs. "But there's others here, too, that can help Don. Like the new teen that stayed behind." Her words stutter at referring to Pepe as just "the new teen," perhaps feeling a bit guilty at not knowing his name.

"And why do you think he had to stay behind? He volunteered to help, too." Here she pauses, her eyes cast down.

Gilda mumbles, "Because he still can't move his arm and he's recovering. He shouldn't be moving around, anyways. After all, he's still too weak."

It seems she understands a little better. A small twinge of pride undoes the knot just a bit, and I nod my head. "Because he cannot fight demons as well, they left him behind, too. Wouldn't you think it unfair that someone like you gets to go because you want to _even though you can't fight demons_ and he can't go even though he's had experience fighting?" Here she nods without hesitation, already coming to that conclusion. Fast thinker. If she did some training, this little child might one day be strong and smart enough to tackle an intelligent demon with little help. Not someone like Lewis or Nous/Nouma, obviously, but perhaps one of the lesser noble demons.

After a moment of silence, Gilda takes in a sharp breath and nods once. "Right. I have a job to do. It'd be unfair to Don if I left him here to run everything by himself. Besides, Emma's counting on me. I won't let anyone down. Thanks, Lucas." Before she scurries off to tackle the work for today, Gilda briefly hugs me as a way of showing the extent of her gratitude. Words can't hope to describe the complex feelings she must have.

"You're welcome," I say out loud. But the girl is already gone. I shouldn't disturb her any more. After all, she's got a busy role to play in this rather populous shelter.

And apparently so do I. For once, I feel relieved that I can support these children even when they're not in life-or-death scenarios. In fact, it's rather refreshing. Even if I don't have my other limbs, I still have the ability to lift their self-esteem.

If only I was able to do the same with Yuugo.

**{Yuugo's POV} :D**

**Yay, we're finally back with my favorite character to write! And remember, I'm just as clueless as you as to how things are going to pan out. Only difference is I learn about it earlier than you do. That's it. Sorry if it's disappointing! T~T**

The strong odor of demon blood hangs in the air, almost as thick as the fear I feel pumping through my veins. Telling me to just run, faster and faster until I run out of breath and my legs are chomped off. The footsteps and roars grow louder as time goes on. They're catching up to me. I covered up my mouth earlier to keep the stench of blood away, but that piece of cloth had fallen off a few minutes ago. Fuck, I can almost feel them breathing down my back.

Trying to evade the one behind me, I dart to my right as sharp and sudden as possible. It worked from the sound of the demon slamming into multiple trees and screaming in fury. **"KILL!"** they cheer in raspy voices together; somehow these demons managed to keep enough intelligence to speak. A clawed hand slams down directly in front of me, leaving me almost no room to dodge. Almost. Luckily my fidgety self manages to evade a swipe by sliding on the wet and slippery ground.

But they leave me no room to gain some distance. There's a lot of them chasing after me and running into another pack's territory does no good. The remains of the pack whimpered and turned tail the moment they saw these demons. For some reason these demons manage to strike enough fear in the wild demons that they don't even look at me as I flee from this pack. Which is a blessing as this pack is a lot to handle.

One of them leaps in front and dives for me that way, their tongue flapping in the air. Luck is on my side today as I hop onto it's face and stab it's middle eye with the knife. It doesn't scream too much before it dies, prompting the others to shriek. But it isn't screams of anger; they're howling with joy. **"HE MUST BE TASTY!"** one howls, crawling over its comrade's corpse to reach me.

But before his claws can surround me, another tears off his hand and snarls, **"THIS HUMAN IS MINE!"** This statement results in multiple demons trying to stake a claim on me as they all dive from different directions, making it impossible for me to concentrate and find a way out. All I can manage to do is avoid the grasping claws and snapping canines. The stench makes it even harder not to throw up.

When one finally catches me the odor of demon blood finally overwhelms my senses. I retch onto the demon's face when it raises me above his head in victory, and it releases my shaking body with a scream. Somehow I manage to roll off his body and fall onto the ground with a few bruises. Shivering, I limp away as the others laugh at the demon I vomited on, trying to find a tunnel. Fuck my memories at this point, it's better than getting eaten!

Unfortunately one notices me running away, and I groan before speeding up in an attempt to escape. Of course it catches up to me in no time, and it manages to grab me by my leg. Instantly another, with massive amounts of drool, yanks me away and into its own hands. **"HEY! I CAUGHT THE HUMAN!"** the first growls and slashes the drooling demon's face. It shrieks and lets go of me, which the attacker takes to its advantage by grabbing me before I can hit the floor.

**"WHAT THE HELL?! I HAD IT FAIR AND SQUARE!"** The amount of drool it spits out makes me shake in disgust.

The claws holding me tightens its grip, and I gasp loudly to draw in breaths. It's getting harder to breathe with the claws squishing me. **"YEAH RIGHT! YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME!"** it hisses, pulling me closer to itself like I'm some sort of possession.

Like I'm just a piece of meat and nothing more.

Red tints my vision as I take the knife somehow still with me and slice into its claws, dropping only ten or so feet. The stench of demon blood no longer bothers me. This time I'm not running. I'm not going to be prey anymore. Never again.

The demon at this point is roaring in rage, pushing the others away while reaching for me with its other hand. Laughably, it's easy for me to hop onto it's arm and then onto its face. It feels so good to watch the demon's middle eye widen with fear before I stab it, and the scream that follows is deliciously pleasing. Being covered in blood isn't terrifying; the feeling of power is intoxicating as I continue to leap and stab. It's laughable to dodge their wide swipes. All of them are screaming in rage and fear, and some of them are trying to run away after seeing me kill the others one by one.

It doesn't matter if they run or not. All they're made to do is fall by my hand one by one.

Sometimes I leap from tree branches onto their heads. The surprised squawk that I gain makes me want to do it more. Other times I just lure them into a trap where I make them trip and fall onto the floor. Then they're lowered to my level, where it's easy to just stab their middle eye without too much jumping. And when the remaining ten try to run, I leap onto their backs and then take in the terrified screams before killing them.

When there's only one left, I'm breathing hard; however, I can still cut off its limbs. It cries as it tries to crawl away with the stumps of its regenerating limbs. After hearing the pathetic demon scream a few more seconds, I finally release it from its misery and stab the middle eye. All that comes out is a high-pitched squeak before its body goes limp.

They're all dead now. I'm not prey anymore.

The moment I take in that fact, my legs wobble underneath me. The adrenaline or whatever had been keeping me up is gone now. My vision starts to waver and black out at times, and it's all I can do to breathe. I fall forward, unable to stand up anymore. I need to move, but my body won't listen. It decides that now's a good time to sleep and refuses to respond.

I try to hold onto the rage and it helps give me the determination to stand up. There's no way I'm going to become food for demons. That's why I escaped the farm. That's why Lucas saved me from Lewis in Goldy Pond. That's why I refuse to collapse in the middle of the forest. There's no way I'm dying now. Not when I still have a promise to keep.

Not when I still have to apologize to Lucas.

So when I manage to find a tunnel close by, I just fall into the darkness that swallows me whole. I lack the energy to continue moving. Memories of running and blood and tears try to claw back to the forefront of my mind, but the massive fatigue I'm feeling pushes it into the back of my mind. My eyelids close, and I breathe shakily. I'm alive. I actually made it out okay.

Footsteps ring out in the dark tunnel, and two figures block out the light from the entrance. One of them has what looks to be a spear on his back, and the other holds a lantern so close to my face that my eyes are momentarily blinded by the light. "Who is this?" the spear-wielding figure asks, a male from the sound of it. "Hmm, it's an adult. Strange. Usually humans don't survive that long out here in this forest."

"He seems familiar, don't you think?" a feminine voice responds, soft and musical. I feel like I know that voice; after all, one can't forget its unique sound. Like tinkling bells.

"Whatever. Adult humans can't be trusted. They're always against us, after all." I want to see what's going on, but my vision is too blurry to see anyways. It hurts to move, but my body's screaming to run away from the male holding a spear. After all, I can feel the familiar aura of death emanating from him.

The female's cloak swoops in front of me, and everything happens so fast I can't really follow along. "But can't you smell demon blood on him? If he's truly working for the nobles, wouldn't he have a gun instead of just a knife? Besides, we can always look for his string of numbers. That'll tell us if he's from a farm or not, right?" Something's happening with the female's partner, but she blocks me from seeing what.

A rather distant memory tugs on my mind, gentle yet insistent. I do know these people, and they somewhat recognize me, too. But I can't remember why or where I've met them. The memory is too far back to recall easily. When I try to remember, sleep hushes my thoughts and lures me away into dreams.

**Hello. New chapter. Hope you all enjoyed! When I read about Norman aligning with rejected noble demons, I decided that they had to be wandering around the forests, right? And some of the noble demons may have left their leader due to anger at him for letting this happen to him, right? It's possible. So these are the demons that, in my mind, disassociated with the other noble rejects due to anger and wandered about until they came across Yuugo. As you can see, they all died because they were arrogant and only got used to beating up wild demon packs. So they don't exactly know how to deal with a furious and rage-driven Yuugo that is speedy and agile. At least, that's what I settled on because I wanted a plot that at least made some sort of sense, right?**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you have some things to say, you're welcome to say so. I don't mind changing a few things if it makes it more enjoyable to read.**

**Also, sorry for making this chapter super short. Didn't realize that would happen.**


	14. Is It Good Luck Or Bad Luck?

**First things first, I just enjoy reading reviews. I never realized how much I enjoyed them until QuestRunner here wrote them. God dang I just enjoy reading it. After I post a chapter, I'm just checking up on my story just in case you left another one. Now I sound like a stalker, but it's true! I LOVE reading nice reviews. Keep 'em coming!**

**Also, love my new profile picture. Found it on wallpapercave for TPN wallpaper, not sure who made it but I appreciate it very much. Very lovely since I love TPN, it has Yuugo in one of his more badass moments, and it's well made.**

**Now that that's out of the way, time for the third thing I want to say. ****Sorry the previous chapter was really short! I honestly didn't notice until I started writing this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the reject demons because, you know, they're fun to write. They have an awesome backstory, and I honestly don't believe that the rejected demons stayed as one group instead of a small group of them branching off. So I apologize for the really short chapter and, as a result, I will strive to go over at least the 5k mark. Possibly 6k if I wish to.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

**{Emma's group's POV}**

It had taken a few hours to reach the forest the first trip, yet this time they were more prepared to run that distance and managed to get there within 4 hours instead of the original 5. According to the position of the sun, it's 2 hours past noon. Mister could be anywhere in this forest now, especially since—according to Emma and Ray—he wakes up a little bit before the sun rises. But no one worries that something will kill Mister—after all, he managed to hide his presence enough to shoot _Nous_ of all demons—but that he may kill himself after a few days. After all, the children have noticed his suicidal tendencies.

All anyone can do is pray for Mister to have enough reason not to end it all.

When the group arrives at the edge of the forest, Emma and Ray instantly take the lead. After following Mister through the forest and relying on the environment for food and shelter, Emma and Ray are the most experienced for going through this part of the forest and evading the wild demons. The others took the safer path and had not come across any packs, so they have no idea what to expect from wild demons. Even though intelligent demons like Lewis and Lord Baron are more deadly on their own, wild demons have rather large numbers, are unpredictable, and can surprisingly be stealthy when they have enough brain cells to do so.

Besides, Emma and Ray are the only ones in this group that have actually interacted with Mister for more than one or two days and thus may know where Mister may be inclined to go. Gilda takes the crown for the most interaction with Mister; however, she's too inexperienced with fighting demons and is needed in the shelter, so she can't go out and help find Mister. Lucas could say that he knows Mister best, but obviously a lot has changed with Mister since they got seperated. So Emma and Ray are the only ones the group can depend on to find Mister.

The moment they actually enter the forest, all they hear are roars and screams from demons further in as well as see the rotting corpses at the entrance. "The forest has never been this loud before," Ray says, disturbed by the massive amount of noise and the way most of the corpses they pass had been brutally murdered. Well, the entire group is disturbed and are rightfully afraid for their lives.

"Maybe the packs are fighting over territory or food?" Emma asks Ray. The two of them distance themselves from the rest of the group subconsciously. They don't realize that the others are a bit behind as they talk with one another. "After all, these packs are not exactly friends with each other. Not even intelligent demons were friendly when it came to humans."

"Maybe," Ray ponders. Emma feels the urge to speak when Ray falls silent for a moment, but she sees the expression on Ray's face and knows that he has more on his mind. He's just collecting his thoughts into speech that's easy for Emma to understand. "But remember the last time we came here, when Mister was with us?" Emma nods, grimacing at the memories. "When we ran into another pack's territory to evade the wild demons chasing us, they didn't fight over territory or over us, which they obviously wanted. They didn't even chase us into the other pack's land. They had established boundaries and respect those invisible lines even when there's two humans right there for them to eat. So these packs must have formed a sort of truce or balance so that they don't rip each other apart."

An inkling of what Ray is hinting at plants itself in Emma's mind. "Wait, so are you saying that something may have upset that balance the wild demons created for themselves?" Ray nods in response to the question, and then the two children fall silent for another moment. Of course, Emma doesn't really feel right just ending the conversation there and asks another thought that has started to fester. "So, do you think Mister might have done that? Break the balance?"

After a few moments, Ray shakes his head. "No. Did you see those corpses? A few of them looked to be stabbed by something small, like the knife Mister used. But the others were cut up so savagely that it just couldn't be Mister. He wouldn't waste his energy like that. He's too clean about killing demons. And the demons wouldn't trespass with _premium-grade_ in front of them. They wouldn't do it with Mister." Suddenly the screams intensified, and the entire party of humans jolt at the change in volume. "No, they wouldn't scream like that if Mister was the one attacking them," Ray concludes, shivering at another shriek of agony.

Emma tries to think of another reason why the balance might break, yet nothing really pops into mind. However, she's certain Ray has an idea of what it could be. "Well? What else could possibly be throwing these packs off?" she asks.

"Perhaps some intelligent demons have entered the forest. The wild demons do attack them, and if they entered multiple pack territories, they could get enough wild demons attacking to break the thin balance the packs had sustained." Pausing in his explanation, Ray voices his doubts with this theory. "Though intelligent demons wouldn't rip the packs apart like that. And why would they be in the forest in the first place?"

This time Emma has something to add. "Well, they could be here to investigate Goldy Pond. After all, we did kill a bunch of _noble_ demons." At that, Ray agrees. Though his expression says otherwise. Knowing that Ray just needs a bit more time, Emma heads back to the rest of the group to check in.

A few of the older teens, specifically Violet, really don't like the idea of heading towards all the noise. After all, the demons are in that direction and are driven into a rage. Seeing Nous angry and almost slaughtering everyone had a big impact on Violet, and hearing howls of rage is sending her into a fit of terror. Taking this to heart, Emma returns to Ray who's carrying a thoughtful expression. "Maybe we should go into the tunnels now," Emma proposes. "The others are getting antsy being up here, and the tunnels are much safer than being out here." Looking back at a shivering Violet being comforted by her comrades, she adds, "Violet isn't taking this well. I think it might be best if we move someplace where Violet won't have to fight."

Ray looks over at Emma, his thinking expression morphing into a more serious one. His eyes shift over to Violet for a split second, and even though his face stays level, Emma knows that the sight isn't settling well with Ray. "I understand that it may be better for Violet, but I'm not sure we should enter the tunnels. What if we run into Musica again and the others attack her? And with the forest acting rather strange, maybe the tunnels aren't even safe anymore. We also don't even know how to navigate the tunnels all that well since Sung-Joo made the tunnels a maze that only he knows the way through. And Mister doesn't like the tunnels," Ray adds at the end. He thinks back to Mister's hesitation upon finding the tunnels. "When the poachers were following us, Mister didn't use the tunnels until he had no other choice. Even then, it was hard for him. I don't think he'd be in the tunnels unless it's very serious, so we shouldn't go into the tunnels since we're trying to look for him."

At that reasoning, Emma bites her lower lip in thought. "Yeah, but if there's a disturbance in the forest, then we should go into the tunnels. Musica said none of the demons know about its existence. Anyways, we can't bring Mister back if we get hurt, and being out here is extremely dangerous for them. And it'll be better for Violet's mental health to be somewhere safe. After the demons stop fighting, then we'll go look for Mister." Even though Ray thinks going into the tunnels are a bad idea, he does agree on the fact that this group does need to be safe in order to find Mister. And he doesn't want to bring up bad memories for Violet.

Besides, Ray can't really say no to Emma. Not like this, where Emma's reasoning is actually pretty solid and stays in line with finding Mister while also not threatening her own life. Also, Ray knows how stubborn she gets when someone else is hurting. The child sighs in defeat. "Alright, let's go in the tunnels. Get some torches ready." It really shouldn't feel this good to raise the white flag, but seeing her face light up and knowing that she's delighted is worth losing an argument to her of all people. Especially a _verbal_ argument.

Sighing again, Ray stands up and searches for a tunnel entrance nearby. From where he stands, Ray listens to Emma tell the group their plan, and he knows it might be hard to follow along with Emma. "So underneath the ground, there's a _huuuge_ network of tunnels that zigzag along the entire forest." Against his will, Ray lets loose a snicker as Emma continues to explain the idea of tunnels to the puzzled teens. Even Violet is now ignoring the screams to stare at Emma in bewilderment.

Another howl reigns chaos upon Ray's ears. Pain flares up as more screeches rain down upon the once silent forest. Clapping his hands over his ears, Ray curses the demons for picking today of all days for a fight. Yet as the howls continue on, Ray notices that there's something different about them now. Now it's just full of fear and agony. What the hell is creating fear in wild demons of all things? Suddenly entering the tunnels is more favorable to Ray, and he heads back to the rest of the group in a hurry.

Good thing Emma managed to convince him this time. The rescue team dodged a bullet right there. And then Ray's blood runs cold. For Gillian had raised her hand and asked, "How did you guys find out about the tunnels?"

Sprinting over, Ray essentially pulls Emma out of the conversation, knowing that she's a horrible liar. "Well, I found out about it first. Mister showed me the tunnels while Emma made dinner, and then I showed it to her." Catching on quickly—the one thing Ray's grateful for—Emma nods with her signature smile.

Despite knowing that she shouldn't talk about Musica and Sung-Joo, Emma didn't really know how to lie her way out of that situation. So when Ray stepped in and spun a lie that was plausible, Emma can't thank him enough for the quick save. "Come on, we have to go to the tunnels," Ray says. Within moments Violet's right behind Ray, jumping at every new shriek. The rest of the group quickly follows suit, not wanting to stay out in the open any longer.

Behind everyone, Emma looks out in the direction of the howls. Something's wrong about them. They're way less frequent yet somehow even more blood-curdling. And when Emma entered the tunnel, she could swear that out there, one of the demons pleaded, **"DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE!"** Though it must be Emma's imagination, right? After all, wild demons can't talk or even feel fear. And a noble demon would never beg a wild demon for anything. It had to be her imagination. Even with her reassuring thoughts, Emma still shivers at the thought that maybe what she heard was real.

**{Time skip}**

Even after an hour or two—Was it just an hour? Perhaps it was longer—the last demonic scream of pure terror plays out over and over in everyone's mind. None of them expected the screams ending to feel so wrong. Now all anyone can think of is if they're next. If whatever had killed all those demons knows where the children are and is hunting them down as they trudge through the dark tunnels. Emma thought that the forest up above was cold before, yet these tunnels are somehow even colder. Like any heat that was still in the air above ground was sucked out the moment it entered the tunnels.

Walking without Sung-Joo or Musica beside them doesn't sit right with both Emma and Ray. After all, these tunnels are basically their homes. Sung-Joo dug them out himself. Not seeing Musica or Sung-Joo in these tunnels is just wrong, especially when they're traveling as a group.

Somewhere in the amount of time spent walking, Emma made it to the front of the group with Ray. Holding his hand made walking into the darkness a bit easier. After all, things in this forest have changed. The darkness could have something lurking inside, waiting to take a bite of human flesh. What once was comforting is now foreboding to them, and so Emma and Ray huddle close together.

A swish of cloth in the darkness catches Emma's attention, for she's used to the tunnels being as silent as the forest above. When Ray squeezes her hand, Emma knows she's not the only one that heard it. Sounds of metal clicking from behind show that the others hear the light footsteps as well. Now that there's someone clearly here with them, everyone's on edge with their fingers on the triggers. Emma takes the step forward, ignoring Ray's glare to move back. She holds the flashlight in front of her, trying to see what's causing the noise. The ray of light barely reveals the figure in the darkness, smiling at her.

Emma drops the flashlight.

**{Yuugo's POV} Yay, more Yuugo!**

The last time I woke up, it was in the tallest branch I could climb up to. It was pleasant to fall asleep watching the stars. This time, I wake up underneath a ceiling of dirt and in pain, like some sort of devil used me as a punching bag. My chest has the worst of it, and taking a single breath is painful. It's hard to breathe without pressure pushing back on my lungs. Despite the difficulty breathing, I somehow keep myself calm (I don't know why, but the usual fear feels nullified or pushed to the back of my mind) and start to take shallow breaths. Breathing like this lessens the pain in my chest.

There's someone moving around near me, but I don't really give a damn at this point. If whatever it is wanted to kill me, I'd be dead. After all, I've been asleep for who knows how long. A pair of feet stop near my head, clawed at the ends. Similar to demon feet.

Whoever it is probably hears my brain trying to process what this means, rotating its gears sluggishly in an effort to think. Then everything clicks and I look up, hoping it's not what I think it is. To my disappointment—it's more terrifying that I don't really feel anything else at this revelation—it really is a demon standing beside me. He's rather human-like, though. I might've thought of him to be a really tall human if his aura wasn't so demon-like. Along with his feet and mask. And since the demon has kept me alive so far, he might not cause too much harm to me.

Unless he's like Lewis...

"You're awake," the demon says, interrupting my thoughts. His voice rumbles without being too gruff, nicely fitting his stature. He sits down in my line of sight, placing his weapon on the ground beside him. "You've grown a lot since the last time we've met. I never thought humans changed this much within just a few years. We hardly recognized you before."

I try to sit up to at least feel less vulnerable and defenseless (though in my state he'd easily kill me), but my chest tightens to the point that it's unbearable to breathe. Within moments clawed hands gently lay me back down on the ground, and the demon frowns down at me from above. "You shouldn't be moving like that. Musica said so." A memory tugs at the back of my mind again, though this time it's more urgent like a child shaking my leg.

No words come out when I open my mouth to talk, just a raspy gasp as a sharp stab of pain flares up. It hurts to twist my body or to even flinch from sudden pings of pain. "Remember. Shallow beaths." The demon leans down to do something, and cold air suddenly washes over me. My tired mind takes its time to figure out that he lifted my shirt up and a faint twinge of fear finally sparks. One of his claws prods my ribs, and the resulting cry of agony is choked out before it can reach my ears.

The demon—pretty sure I've met him before—gently pulls my shirt down again, shaking his head. "You've definitely got some broken ribs. There's a few bruises but no swelling. Thankfully it seems the ribs stayed in place. You'll have to stay here for a long time to heal." His head lifts up and I can finally see the entirety of it clearly without any shadows lingering.

Ah, I remember something similar to this. Where I had hurt my leg after running away from Lucas _like the coward I was—am_ and then falling into the tunnel. I remember this expression he has on his face; it's the exact one he had when he and his female companion found me on the floor. They took care of me as my leg healed and showed me how the tunnels worked and what the entrances looked like so I wouldn't fall in again. Funny how that didn't work. I should thank him for helping me even though I didn't deserve it.

But no words of gratitude can be given to the demon, for I still cannot talk. All that comes out is another shaky breath. The demon—What's his name again? It's on the tip of my tongue—appears to want to say more, yet he suddenly perks up as if someone called him. Perhaps someone did, for I don't have hearing as good as a demon's. "Sorry for leaving you alone here, but I need to go," he apologizes, but it's just like the voices. Merely background noise as I try to recall what had happened before.

How did I break my ribs? Was it when a demon squeezed me, or when I fell down from their hands? Can't remember, but it doesn't matter how I broke my ribs. The pain's still there regardless. The pressure is still bearing down on me mercilessly. Ugh, why'd he have to touch it?

My eyes roam around the room (Should it be called a room even though it's made of dirt and below ground?), attempting to find the demon. Huh, he's gone. When did he leave? I try to sit up for a better view of the room—momentarily forgetting the pain it caused—but I recall that memory too late when my chest burts into flames of agony.

A small scream escapes this time, but only a tiny bit of air can leave before I seize up in pain and the air gets cut off. It's getting harder and harder to breathe. Was it always this dark in here? Is the lantern starting to go out? At least I can move my head without any more suffering. Taking shallow beaths is suddenly a necessity instead of an option, for it's impossible for me to bring in any more air.

Then the pressure bears down upon my lungs, and suddenly it's impossible to push against it. When the pressure doesn't relent, that's when I finally start to feel fear. I'm suffocating. I can't breathe. Attempting to call for the demon ends in failure. I can't take in enough air to scream for help.

Am I just going to die _here_? _Now_? After all that I did to survive, it's just all going to end here? Because of a few broken ribs? I want to live. I want to see Lucas again and tell him I'm sorry for not being a good friend. For not being sane enough to resemble a normal human. For not pretending well enough to make him happy. For being a failure.

After seconds of pure fear and regret, sweet air at last rushes into my lungs and I can breathe. However, I can't gulp down deep breaths like how I want to, so I just resort to short, loud gasps as air can finally pass through my throat. I never realized how good it feels to breathe. Even if it is just shallow breaths of tunnel air. It feels wonderful even with my aching... everything.

At least my head feels a bit better now. My vision is much sharper, too. Now that I can finally think, I make a mental note never to sit up again. That pain is something I never want to go through again. None of my previous injuries I've had ever came close to that level of pain and fear. Actually, I did have a lot of fear when I saw those two demons in the tunnel with a broken leg, but the pain wasn't nearly as intense.

I spend some time just laying on the floor trying to take in enough air to survive. The demon comes back every now and then just to check up on me, but he doesn't really stop by and talk. Probably because I can't respond. It takes all my energy just to exist. One time he returned with some food, but the smell made me nauseous and I couldn't stomach any food right now. Not like this.

I feel guilty for refusing to eat their food. It's not their fault that I can't take any food right now. And I'm unable to explain why I'm not eating food, so they're probably just worrying over nothing. I've survived a long time without too much food. I'll be able to last a bit longer, especially after that one "brunch" I had yesterday. Was it yesterday? Time's really weird here, so I don't know for sure.

It's taking the demon a long time to return. He should be back by now. Where the hell is he? There are voices coming from somewhere, but I'm used to hearing voices.

Before I realize it, there's the female demon standing beside me with perhaps a worried expression. Her friend stands behind her like a silent guardian. Huh, speak of the devil. I can't see much beyond the demon masks, but the frown is enough to know that something's bothering the female demon. (Is the term a demoness? No, that sounds really weird.) "Oh dear," she mutters under her breath. "It seems his injuries have gotten worse." Well, I've been through worse. Mentally, anyways.

"He did try to sit up," the male demon explains to his companion. "He won't eat or talk. I fear that he may die at this rate. What should I tell the children?" I never thought I'd see a demon this uneasy.

It's easier to remember the female's name. Musica. Like her voice. Gentle and pleasant to the ears. "He needs surgery to lock his ribs in place to keep them from stabbing anything important. It would also heal faster like that, which is important since demons can attack him any day. But we don't have the equipment to do these things, and even if we did, there's a good chance he'd get infected in these tunnels." Gasping for air, there's no way for me to ask any questions through the pain and struggle. Am I going to die here? After fighting all those demons, I'm still going to die?

Musica turns to her companion. "Ask the children if they have a place for surgery in their shelter. It's the only way for him to survive right now." Shelter? Children? Are they really here? The demon—no, Sung-Joo—nods and leaves the small room/tunnel thing. He's probably heading off to where the children are.

Musica turns back to look at me with a frown. "You won't eat? I understand that the pain makes it undesirable for you to eat, but it'll help you heal a lot faster. You must eat." Shaking my head is the one response I can make right now. There's no way I can eat even if I had no pain or broken ribs. And I don't want to go back to the shelter. Not like this. I'll just make Lucas worry. "I don't understand," Musica sadly says. It seems to pain her not to comprehend what I'm trying to say.

The room falls silent. Well, she falls silent. I, on the other hand, take loud gasps (otherwise I can't take in enough air). Each gasp gets a weird flinch out of Musica. When Sung-Joo enters, the weird silence comes to an end. "What did the children say?"

"They do have a medical bay and have the necessary items for this surgery." Here Sung-Joo pauses for a moment. Like he's preparing himself. "But they also said that it would take forever to get back to the shelter with him in tow. Not to mention that they can't carry him on their own through the desert." Even when I leave the shelter I'm still a burden. Why can't they just leave me alone to die as I please?

Why is it so hard to just fade away?

Musica hangs her head. "I see." After a few seconds of silence, she gathers herself up and stands. "Then we'll have to carry him over to the shelter."

Immediately Sung-Joo protests against that. I would protest against heading to the shelter, too, but I can't spare any energy to talk. "We can't just go out! Even in the desert we may expose ourselves. What will we do then?"

Musica turns her back to me and effectively blocks my view. "Are you just going to let him die, then?! What happened to helping these humans?" Her hand comes back to point at me, and I hear her voice. But the words slur together and becomes yet another background noise. The rattling gasps of air are the only clear sounds I can hear.

Then the pressure increases again, and I can already tell what's about to come.

**Well, I guess that's it. Anyways, I hope I got Musica and Sung-Joo's characters down pat. I know that there's another way to write it (Mujika and Sonju), but when I read the manga, Musica and Sung-Joo was their names for the English version and I decided that that's how I'm going to write their names. Sorry if you don't like that version of their names, but that's going to be their names in this story.**

**Did I get you guys with that ending script? Because it was all just a joke! I don't have 6k words yet, so I still have a while to go!**

**{Sung-Joo's POV (Third Person)}**

Sung-Joo eyes the gasping human on the floor as Musica continues to chew his ear out. The adult's scent is covered by the familiar odor of demon blood. Huge amounts of it comes off in waves, so strong that even after they washed the blood off the odor still lingers. The children probably can't smell the blood, but the demons can. It isn't pleasant.

"Look at him! He's going to die if he cannot eat or drink for a few more days! And you're telling me that you don't want to save this human?" Sung-Joo snorts. How laughable that Musica was the one so willing to send the children back to the farms and now she's the one telling him to save a human. Musica crosses her arms in a parody of the humans, taking his snort to mean something else. "What's so funny about this?"

Sung-Joo looks back at the human, feeling a small sense of pity for him. He must be in a lot of pain, lasting pain that the demon will never truly understand for he can regenerate. Humans are fragile things yet somehow dangerous creatures as well. The thick stench of blood is proof of that. "Nothing, just that..." His sentence comes to a stop when Sung-Joo notices the lack of sound from the human. With a rising sense of dread, Sung-Joo looks at the human and doesn't see the chest rising anymore.

The human had stopped breathing.

Musica realizes this as well once Sung-Joo stopped talking, for she turns to the human behind her. His chest convulses as a few mouthfuls of air can enter, but it's not steady breathing. He's suffocating. "Quick, call the children!" Musica yells, and for once Sung-Joo agrees with her.

With a few quick strides he makes it to the other side of the makeshift camp he and Musica had made that day. The children all look up at him with similar looks of surprise, not really used to his speedy entrances yet. "You may want to go by your human. He isn't able to breathe." Nothing else needed to be said, for the children soon hopped to their feet. The smell of fear is so strong that Sung-Joo has to exit the camp for a few minutes.

Even after consuming Musica's demon blood, Sung-Joo still wishes to taste human meat again. And if he had stayed there any longer, the demon may have done something he'd later regret. Sung-Joo doesn't enter the camp until Musica appears by his side with a sympathetic expression, for she can already tell why he's out here. She doesn't mention it. "He's breathing again, but we don't know of this will happen again or not. And if it does happen again, he could suffocate to death. He's lucky this time." At this, Sung-Joo sighs in defeat.

No matter how many times he says that he's only doing this for himself, Sung-Joo really does care about the human.

"Okay, fine. We'll take him to the shelter." Musica beams at her friend, but Sung-Joo doesn't really care if Musica's happy with the decision or not. Yes, it feels nice for her to be happy, but that's not the reason he's doing this. "But if we get hunted down, remember it's your fault." With that, Sung-Joo enters their camp and ignores the lingering smell of fear.

Musica follows closely beside Sung-Joo all the way to where the injured human is. "Has he spoken?" Musica asks. The children shake their heads and return their gazes to their human friend. Hesitating for a brief moment, the demon gently picks up the adult they simply call "Mister" and watches his chest rise and fall. Good, he's still breathing.

As Sung-Joo picked up the grown human, the older children squawked in protest. "Come on, we've got to hurry. There's no time to waste sitting around. Pack up." As the children start to scurry about, Sung-Joo pointedly ignores Musica's look. Instead he pays attention to the way "Mister" breathes, listening for any signs of a rupture. When nothing out of the ordinary pops out, the demon concludes that his ribs must be pushing down on his lungs (which is why he can't breathe) but nothing has been ruptured yet. Still, it's been pure luck that this human hasn't died so far. And through pure willpower that he's managed to breathe with the weight of his ribs pushing down on his lungs. Who knows how long that luck and willpower will last?

Since the children won't have too much to pack up, Sung-Joo heads to the tunnel that'll lead them to the shelter. Hopefully no demons shall be nearby, especially intelligent demons. They shouldn't be spotted with the cattle that's gone missing of all things. And with premium grade, too...

"We're ready," Emma chirps, her orange hair just as messy and wild as the last time they've met. Seeing her optimistic attitude brings a small smile to Sung-Joo's facs. Which falls the moment he senses Musica draw near. No point in getting teased by her. He might crush "Mister's" bones if Musica decides to tease him.

Her claws softly tread the dirt as she walks to the front. Lifting her lantern, Musica smiles at the group of humans. Her (normally) deceptive warm personality draw the humans closer to her, like moths to a flame. She's not trying to decieve the humans this time, though. She's genuinely happy to be around these children after meeting Emma for the first time.

Sung-Joo can't say he doesn't feel the same way about the small cattle they've come across.

"Ready to head out?" Even though she asks, Musica already knows the answer. So Sung-Joo doesn't see a reason to respond. Though he feels that this'll end badly, the demon leads the group through the tunnels with Musica lighting up the path for him.

"Mister" writhes in his arms, breathing heavily. Sung-Joo hopes he'll last long enough.

**And this time I'm not joking. It's the end of the chapter. I feel like I might've gotten Sung-Joo's character down, but I'm pretty sure I messed it up somewhere along the way. Sorry if this seems out of character for both Sung-Joo and Musica. Anyways, I'm going to start working on the next chapter once I'm done with homework. Here's to hoping that the chapter won't be deleted.**

**Somehow, this entire chapter got deleted when I was about 3/4 done with it and I feared that all my work would be gone! But I managed to recover this chapter (Thank God!) and all my work didn't go down the drain.**

**And that's all I have to say. I hope you enjoyed reading this.**


	15. Just Hang On

**Hello. I'm writing this chapter without really doing my homework. Shocker. I have always been the type of lazy person not to do my homework or study and still get either close to or exactly 100% on my big tests. Then again, I am only in highschool, so things can change.**

**Anyways, I'm just going to cut my notes short and say that I enjoy reviews. That's it. Time to go to the story!**

**{Lucas's POV}**

I sit on a chair that Don moved close to the main entrance of the shelter, waiting patiently for any sign of the group. They can handle themselves, I know that; however, that doesn't quell my nerves for Yuugo. I want to be here. I want to see them the moment they enter. I want to be there for him.

It's been two days since they've left. Three days since Yuugo ran away. Gilda and Don—the kind souls they are—had two children give me breakfast when I had forgotten to go to the dining room this morning. Not only that, but I've also heard that Anna, Mark, Chris, Nat—well, the whole group of Gracefield children are working on a gift for me. For several days. They said it'd be done later today. Of course I tried asking what it was, but after seeing how "sneaky" they tried to be and how excited they were to show me, I decided I'd sit this one out and let them have the joy of giving this secret gift to me when it's finished.

Anna's been gone for a long time now. She doesn't ever leave the hospital part of the shelter, and nobody allows me to see what's going on. Apparently she's working on my gift. I don't want her to work all day and night for me, but Gilda says that she's working to help save Pepe's arm (which has alarmingly lost feeling) and that she likes to be there anyways. It still doesn't make me feel better to know that I'm part of the reason Anna's losing sleep.

I've already done that to Yuugo (and possibly worse).

Other than that, most things stay the same. The children usually come up to me to ask for help. Whether it's a word they don't understand to reaching something up high, I try to help the best I can. However, whenever I'm trying to reach something that's high, I have to balance on my remaining leg since I only have one arm to grab things with (thus I have to drop my crutch). Whenever that happens, I sigh and mentally prepare myself for the bits of pain that spike up from doing so. Once I noticed that the children don't respond well when I sigh, I started to hide the sharp spikes of pain whenever I do something that requires at least one hand.

The children are deceptively observant, though. They don't look like it, but no amount of hiding the pain truly keeps it a secret for them. None of them accept my help anymore to reach something high, and when I help them anyways, the children don't look happy about it. They still say thank you, but the way they look down at the object makes me wish I hadn't helped them.

The same moment they slowed down their requests for my help, they also started to carry things for me everywhere. I appreciate their help with things like carrying plates and trying to reduce the amount of things that I have to do with my arm, but I've lived with this for thirteen years. I know by now how to carry things with one arm and one leg. Don't treat me like I'm unable to do anything by myself. It just makes me feel even more useless.

The things that kinda make up for my sudden uselessness, however, are the games that that the children make me a part of. Sometimes the children come up to me and play charades, one of the few games I can play with them. Other times I offer a piggy back ride to the smaller children. That's something simple enough to do with a crutch, though I have to be careful about my balance. Whether it's tic-tac-toe or a guessing game, they try to include me in a lot of the games they play. Still, most of the interactions I have with the smaller children are when I tell stories of me and Yuugo fighting demons and escaping the Glory Bell plantation. When I slip up and call him by his name, the young children don't catch it since they're usually entranced by the stories I've perfected for these moments. The older kids, however, make downcast looks whenever they hear his name. I don't like to see them like that, so I make sure not to say Yuugo's name. I want them to be as happy as possible.

It's a shame, though. His name is so unique and suits him perfectly. Of course, it's my fault that he hates being reminded of his past self. I didn't look out for him. I wasn't able to protect him from Lewis. And when I did, I had to give up an arm and a leg.

I look down at my missing leg and frown. The memory of Lewis is still fresh in my mind. Sometimes I get phantom pains from where my leg used to be, like my brain still thinks my leg is there. I wish it was still there. Then none of the children would hesitate to ask for help from me, the one thing I enjoy doing.

And maybe, if I had my leg, Yuugo would be more likely to talk to me.

A tap on my last leg brings me out of my thoughts. It's Lannion and Thoma, side by side with the widest grins. Their eyes sparkle with delight and they practically cheer, "We're done with our gift! You're going to love it! Come on, follow us! Ever since you came here, we've been working really hard! It's perfect!" They ramble on like the small balls of energy that they are, and the two children lead the way. No one is outside in the halls for some reason, though I soon find out why.

They're all in the hospital wing. Some of them poke their heads into the hallway and smile when they see me slowly approaching. "Close your eyes!" Thoma says, and I play along. One child grabs my sleeve and gently guides me into the room while my eyes are shut. Multiple giggles sound from all around me, and I can hear shuffling as the children get into position. The hand on my sleeve is gone now. I can't wait to see what they've made for me.

"Okay, open you eyes!" I've memorised Gilda's voice by now with how often we speak. When I open my eyes, I almost let go of my crutch in shock. Anna (who must've read half of the medical books in this shelter by now) is holding a prosthetic leg in front of me. Above them all, a hand-crafted banner read, "Thank you, Lucas!" Some of the letters look close to falling off.

She looks down, shy as always. "Well, you've done a lot for us even though it hurt to, so we worked really hard on this prosthetic leg for you. It won't bend as well—if at all—as your real leg, but it'll help you walk a lot better. And you wouldn't need to rely on the crutch as much anymore with this on." All of the other children nod along with Anna, grinning at me.

Tears are threatening to run down. They made this for me? I've done almost nothing for them, and they spent all that time making this for me? My grip on my crutch tightens to the point where my knuckles turn white. Do they really care about me this much? Even when I'm such a burden at times?

Lannion raises his hand and proudly says, "I brought the supplies for Anna!" Instantly Mark raises his own hand and counters with, "Well, I helped make the banner!" The other children soon join in with their contributions and it becomes a yelling match to see who did more to help. It brings a smile to my face, watching these children interact happily with each other despite the horrors the world must've thrown at them.

Could that be me and Yuugo one day?

"Thanks." It comes out as more of a whisper than anything else, but the children soon quiet down when they heard me speak. I look at each and every one of them, somehow proud to see how mature and kind they are. Even if just a few seconds ago they had a competition for who did what.

Gilda and Don help me sit down on a chair so Anna can put on the prosthetic. The other children hold their breaths as the prosthetic is attached, and I silently pray to any kind of God up there that the prosthetic will work. It takes forever for it to attach, and I fear that it may not work. But soon enough, it's on. Once Anna makes room for me, I try to stand up.

For the first time in thirteen years, I don't need the crutch to stand up on my own feet (Should the prosthetic count as a foot?). And when I take a step, I don't need to lean on anything for support. I don't need the crutch anymore to walk.

For the first time in thirteen years, I can walk normally again.

This time I can't hold back the tears. Gilda is right there with her arms open wide, ready to be a shoulder to cry on. Ready to repay me for being there for her. I take it in a heartbeat. All of the children are at my side within moments, hugging me in joy and cheering because the prosthetic worked. "Though it may not seem like it, we want—no, need—you to be happy, too." That sentence from Gilda only makes me break down harder, and I embraced as many children as I possibly could.

"I love it." It comes out hoarse and raw, but it doesn't matter; they all appreciate it anyways. All of their little arms hug me tighter, and I return the gesture with my one remaining arm. It doesn't really matter that I only have one arm to hug them with. It doesn't matter that I have one real leg left.

It's the gesture and the meaning behind it that makes me so happy. They not only noticed the problems I was having as I tried to help them, but they worked so hard to give me a gift to show that they need me to be happy, too. That they appreciate the little that I've done for them. That they know how much more I want to do for them.

I've missed this feeling. The feeling of knowing for a fact that I'm part of a family. And now I don't have to be a burden anymore.

"Thank you all so much," I cry, but the rest of the words don't come out. All I can really do is stand there (On my own two feet!) and hug the children that have worked so hard to make this gift. The only thing I can say is:

"Thank you."

**Okay, I hope that I got Lucas's character down. It's something that's actually really hard for me. And before you say anything, yes Lucas is a ****father figure to the Goldy Pond children, but he just felt like they latched on to him only because they needed him to survive the hunts. And when they arrived at the shelter, they couldn't really show how much they care about him before they had to leave the shelter or stay in the hospital. So this is the first time he actually feels like people like him without him being vital to their survival. That's my thought process, anyways.**

**Now that I've given you a taste of some good feels it's time to continue.**

**{Sung-Joo's POV (Third Person)}**

**I don't know why but it's kinda fun to write from a demon's perspective. Almost as fun as writing Yuugo's POV, which is saying a lot. Emma and Ray are good characters and so are the others, but they just aren't that fun to write. Not like Yuugo and demons. They're on another level. Lucas I would enjoy, but his character is hard to pin down for me, which is why he's not as fun to write.**

Nearing the exit, Sung-Joo checks up on "Mister" once more. His chest rises and falls, but his breaths are too short for the demon's liking. They'll have to move fast in order to make it to the shelter in time. No time to rest.

Some of the older humans are lagging behind, but most are able to keep up with the brisk pace Sung-Joo sets. Musica headed back to make sure the older humans were okay a while ago and handed the lantern to Emma. Stopping just before the tunnel turns to the left, Sung-Joo looks up at one of the exits. A bit of the desert sand drifts in. Must be a windy day.

Holding the human with one arm, Sung-Joo lifts himself out of the tunnel and waits for the humans to do the same. Sure enough, it's rather windy outside. He holds the spear tightly in one clawed hand, watching the forest for any sign of a demon. Surprisingly, there are no wild demons here, none that Sung-Joo can smell. Strange. They are in the southern section of the forest, right? The wind changes direction and the demon catches a whiff of demon blood. Sung-Joo clenches his spear tighter and protectively guards the children and Musica from any possible threats.

If he's going to help these humans, the demon won't let a single claw harm them.

"Mister" squirms in pain from the sudden movements, and Sung-Joo slowly moves his arm into a more comfortable position for the adult. The human had fainted a while ago from a bout of pain and suffocation (that time it took longer for the human to recover), and it seems he's still unconscious. Are humans supposed to sleep for this long? Knowing next to nothing about how to treat human injuries, the demon doesn't know what to look out for. After all, demons regenerate. In the end, he just lets Ray check up on "Mister" in order to make sure the human is okay.

Once all the children and Musica exit the tunnels, Emma and Ray take the lead. This time Sung-Joo hovers near the middle and follows the children as they head towards their shelter, for he doesn't know where their shelter is exactly. The demon always wondered how these humans managed to hide from intelligent demons in this shelter of theirs. Was it underground, like his tunnels? Did it contain more adult humans like this one? Was it well-stocked? Did a large group of humans live there? Was it like demon society but with humans? And did it have natural humans? Even though he had a lot of questions, Sung-Joo decides that the best thing to do right now is to stay quiet about his curiosity. They don't have the time or energy to spare talking.

Musica checks in on the human repeatedly during the walk. Even after Sung-Joo tells her to stop trying to bother "Mister" while he's asleep, she can't help but come by again and again. For someone who wanted to give cattle children back to the farms, she sure gets attached to humans rather quickly. Not that he can claim otherwise.

Sung-Joo starts to wonder why she never mentioned giving this cattle human back to Glory Bell when they first found him. Was it because this human isn't premium-grade? Maybe because Glory Bell isn't as high-up as Gracefield was? Or perhaps it's because Glory Bell gave up on finding the cattle it lost well before they stumbled upon him? Probably the last one. At that point it wouldn't be worth it to return one cattle child past its prime age to Glory Bell. After all, the farm lost a whole group of cattle. Returning just one Glory Bell cattle child wouldn't benefit Musica as much as returning all of the Gracefield cattle. Maybe that's why it slipped her mind.

And maybe she took pity on such a human child, alone and scarred. Maybe she took pity on such a creature that had lost all of his friends to the noble demons. It's possible. After all, she shares a similar story from her youth.

"Are we there yet?" one of the teens call out. The one with goggles is taking the heat worse than the others. He's being half-dragged by a few other humans who are also tired and hot. After all, they've been walking for most of the day. The shadows are longer now, and the group tries to keep in the shadows more than the sun. Shade, however, does almost nothing against the pervasive heat.

Sung-Joo stares at the humans for a bit longer, observing the sweat that seems to glow on their skin and their flushed cheeks. Another curious thing about humans. Demons do get affected by heat but not as severely as humans. And demons don't sweat.

Emma and Ray seem to be a bit more used to it, though that doesn't mean they aren't affected by the heat. Trying to stay chipper, Emma replies, "Don't worry, we're almost there! Just twenty more minutes before we arrive!" All the other teens sigh and continue to trudge forward. It seems they've never had to deal with heat for this long. So where have they lived all these years if they didn't live in this shelter?

If these humans are getting tired, how will "Mister" be faring? He's injured and hasn't taken any water or food. Sung-Joo has heard (from Musica who has been talking to Ray about the human body) that humans can die from consuming too little water and sweating profusely. This human may die from the heat and not even from his actual injuries.

So the demon decides to check on "Mister" and see how he's doing. He wasn't expecting the human to be awake already. It seems "Mister's" been up for a long time, for there's no fear evident in his body posture. Well, it's more like the human is limp in the demon's arms without the usual terror one of his kind might experience; rather, he seems more confused than anything else.

Sung-Joo searches for Musica. She's in the front by Emma and Ray, still deep in conversation with both.

Good. At least this human will get a bit of rest before she appears. Though Sung-Joo enjoys Musica's presence, he doesn't think it's good for "Mister" to suddenly have to deal with her right off the bat. After all, she can be quite draining at times, and he needs all the energy he can get.

It's strange to watch the human not really care about being held in a demon's arms. Usually they'd try to scream or struggle. That's how humans should act, right? Yet this one isn't even the slightest bit put off. Perhaps that's something the rest of the humans should worry about? It could be the heat or the medicine Emma had given him to lessen the pain (while he was unconscious—Emma said that "Mister" didn't really like medicine). Still, it is slightly worrying to see this human so... lifeless.

His breaths are softer now. They used to be loud and sharp but now it's quiet. Is this supposed to happen? Again, Sung-Joo wouldn't know. How should he know? Maybe he could ask Ray or Musica. They know more about humans than he does.

"Are we going back to the shelter?" The demon wasn't expecting this human to be able to talk so soon or to talk at all during the trip. His voice is raspy and quiet enough that the other humans cannot hear him, and he takes his time pronouncing each word. Like he's attempting to concentrate while distracted. Ah, it probably is the medicine. Ray did mention that it may disorient the human mind a little bit, and the heat could've made it worse. In that case, they may need to quicken their pace and get to the shelter soon. After all, the shade does almost nothing to help against the heat.

Shaking his head, the demon reminded himself that "Mister" had asked a question. Since "Mister" isn't looking up at Sung-Joo, the demon replies, "Yes. You need surgery and a safe space to rest." At the sound of his voice, the other humans turn their heads to look at Sung-Joo, confused as to why he would be talking.

The human finally starts to struggle a bit, though he's too weak to really do anything. "I can't go back," he says, taking in as much air as he possibly can. "Not like this." Sung-Joo tilts his head, confused as to why this human doesn't want to return to the safest place for his kind. It's very puzzling why he'd ever leave in the first place. What would drive this human to leave the safest place for him with nothing but a knife?

What is he afraid of?

**{Yuugo's POV} It's time for some bad feels. Sorry. T~T**

I never realized how much I hate waking up now until I ended up in the desert. *How many times am I going to fall asleep and then wake up somewhere completely different? I went to sleep in the trees, then I woke up underneath the ground, and now I'm in the hot desert. And the shade doesn't do anything against the heat.

Usually I'd be a lot more angrier, but today I just don't really feel anything other than that this weird feeling that everything's far away. The sounds of people talking is rather muffled, and my head turns slowly in order to see who's speaking. My vision's kinda blurry but I can still make out a familiar shock of orange hair in the front and that one little strand shooting up like an antenna.

Emma?

Wha... What's going on? Why does my head hurt so much? It feels like someone's hitting my head. I don't like it. But I don't _hate_ it. Not like I normally do.

I feel disconnected from everything around me. My head doesn't move exactly the way I want it to, like I'm moving through water. Even the pain isn't as sharp as it should be. Shouldn't my ribs be on fire right now? I don't know. Everything's just strange.

I look down and watch the small rocks slide along the ground. Odd. It's windy, but not so windy that every rock would move... at the same speed...

Am I being _carried_? By who?

The answer is right above me. Though it is hard to think straight, I can still recognize the face of the demon from the tunnels, Sung-Joo. He's distracted by the teens walking together in a close-knit group, tired and puffing from the heat. I don't recall any Gracefield orphans being that tall or old-looking. They shouldn't be more than twelve, right?

Oh, right. The orphans from Goldy Pond. Completely forgot they existed. They don't really do anything, either. They were so quiet in the shelter and stuck mostly to themselves, so it was easy to just forget they existed once I got outside.

Something shifts underneath me, and I realize it's the demon's arms. Sung-Joo, right? Or was it something else? No, it's Sung-Joo. I'm right.

It's really hard to think right now. And this headache is the worst. It hurts just to even wonder why on earth a demon is carrying me (it feels so similar to _**his**_ arms, except _**his**_ hold was suffocating) so I don't. I just lay there and try to enjoy the wind pushing against me.

Why'd it have to be so windy today? The wind roars in my ears rather loudly and irritatingly, much like those annoying voices small children have, except it lacks that certain defining feature that makes listening to children tolerable. And children at least listen when my head hurts and stops throwing sand into my eyes.

I truly hate the desert. Never really understood or thought about why until today.

Not only that, but I can say without a doubt that it's not enjoyable to be carried like this. Every time the demon takes a step, whatever's weighing down on me grows heavier somehow. Or the weight shifts. Whatever it is, the demon walking makes the slight discomfort become more painful and there.

At least it grounds me a bit.

A teen yells, and the distant voice of Emma calls back. Did she split from the rest of the group? When I turn towards her direction, the vibrant orange is still just as big and as close as before. My head's just messed up right now. I mean, I'm not even scared that Sung-Joo is carrying me. A _demon_ carrying me somewhere.

Wait, where is he taking me?

A gust of wind blows sand everywhere, but thankfully none of it reaches my eyes this time. Instead it goes into my mouth, and I try to keep it from reaching my throat so I don't cough. Coughing with broken ribs isn't exactly pleasant in any sense of the word.

Well, I'm in a desert. Is there any deserts near the forest? One where the children are willing to go without wild demons (remember, injured person here)? I can't recall anything other than forest. Well, I do remember a desert; the one with the shelter.

The shelter.

Lucas. His hand on the doorknob. To my room. With everything in there. All the writing on the walls. In the shelter. And he's still there, and he's probably seen the room by now, and he's probably disgusted at how sick I am, and he won't love me ever again. Lucas is still there. Waiting to spit in my face about how awful of a friend, a _sibling_ I am. And he'll be right.

No, we aren't going back to the shelter. I'm not supposed to move while I'm healing We're not going there, right? Then again, we are moving. That much is for sure.

All the sounds and wind and sand makes it hard to speak, but I manage to push through and get the words out one way or another. "Are we going back to the shelter?" Please don't say yes. Say no. Say we're heading off to some other safe place for some reason that I won't understand because I'll be too relieved to listen further.

The demon takes his time to respond. It takes so long that I think that maybe he didn't hear me. Or maybe he doesn't know what a shelter is. It takes so long for him to answer that I start to wonder about why I'm still fighting. It's tiring to push back against the weight of my own ribs. Still, I keep on breathing and surviving. With no reason as to why. I don't know why I'm alive. Why do I put myself through this?

And then he speaks. "Yes." Whatever else he says next goes through one ear and out the other as my brain tunnels in on that one word.

_Yes._

Suddenly I don't really feel like I'm disconnected from the world anymore. I'm _scared_. Not because of Sung-Joo or his hold or the memories that are associated with Goldy Pond (such as dead friends), but because I can't run this time and Lucas is going to kill me by simply being disappointed. He won't even have to be repulsed or horrified. Just _that_ look, one of pity and sympathy, will be enough to make my heart stop permanently and throw me over the edge.

I struggle as best as I can—which isn't much at all—before I run out of breath. My stamina has been tanked from not eating that much to the lack of air that I can properly and easily obtain without any extra work. Nevertheless, I'm terrified at the prospect of being back at the shelter. "I don't want to go back to the shelter," I plead, hoping that Sung-Joo will understand. "Not like this." _Not in a state where I can't run away. Where Lucas will fret over me and cause more trouble._

But it seems that Sung-Joo doesn't understand. He tilts his head to one side while staring down at me, and that simple gesture tells me that he won't understand no matter how much I explain it to him. What _demon_ will understand why I don't want to be in the shelter, why I don't just make it up to Lucas and believe that he'll accept me like always? Why I want to run away when I have so many other people to lean on? (I don't agree with these statements, by the way. What adult would rely on _children_ of all people?)

He just won't comprehend why I'd rather live with wild demons than face Lucas again. After all, he isn't human. All he knows is that humans run away from demons/danger and the shelter is the safest place for us. Sung-Joo will never understand.

"We're almost there!" Emma shouts, loud and clear. The sentence bounces around in my head. That I'm back where I started. I tried so hard to leave it all behind, and yet I'm back at the shelter. I'm back _here_.

That's what finally calms me down to the point where I feel numb. The fact that no matter what I do or say, I'll still end up in the shelter in a life I don't want to be in. I'm still going to see Lucas again and he's going to give me _that_ look, and no matter what I do, _life just doesn't care_. It doesn't care that I try my best to save my family from demons and still lets them be slaughtered like animals. It doesn't matter if I try to pretend everything's okay around Lucas since it'll blow up in my face anyways. It means nothing if I try to leave the shelter because even though I hate it, something still pulls me back. And even if I want to die, life won't let me.

I'm still stuck in the same goddamn place no matter what I try. I'm still going to be in the shelter. I still have to face something that happened _13 years ago_. And I can't start over or escape no matter how hard I try. I'm never allowed to choose.

So I stop trying.

**{Lucas's POV}**

Walking around feels great. I never realized how much I miss walking with two legs and twirling even with wonky balance and playing tag as best as I can. Every little fault is something I enjoy. As long as the children smile, I will smile.

It would be better for Yuugo to be here smiling as well. One perfect family. But I'll take what I have right here, right now. I'll just bring Yuugo in later. He'll fit right in once he starts to enjoy himself.

I grin at that thought while I sit on the chair right by the entrance, waiting for their return. Gilda had thrown a small fit when she saw me running around with the children and half-heartedly scolded me. Well, she attempted to. None of us could keep a straight face at a small twelve-year-old scolding an adult almost in his thirties. She finally threw her hands up in the air and got the "doctor", Anna, to tell me to rest and not to run with the prosthetic until a few more days passed and I was deemed fit to run with it. Doctor's orders, right?

So here I am. Silently laughing at the whole thing. Oh, the stories I'll get to tell Yuugo! He's got to hear all the wonderful little quirks these children have. And he's got to play with them. We'll be one big family.

A family that Yuugo deserves.

Soon, though, I'm unable to sit still with all the exciting thoughts in my head. Walking around the shelter will help calm myself down. Getting out of my seat, I reassure myself that Gilda will call me if they return and I won't miss anything. With that in mind, I start to wander through the maze-like halls of the shelter.

Trying to calm myself down, I take note of the walls. There's certainly some new dirty spots, but it's relatively clean. Of course, it's probably the orphans, but I like to think that Yuugo kept this place tidy.

Waiting for me to return.

Suddenly the excitement is gone, and all my ideas about our new family is mercilessly ripped apart. What was I thinking? Yuugo would never forgive me for leaving him alone all those years. I promised him I'd return and see him again. The guilt he must've felt when he thought I was dead. That I broke a promise and died because of him. No, he'd never forgive _himself_ for that. I know how stubborn he can be, and that he's quick to blame himself.

(Not that Mama did anything to help.)

But I'm here. I'm here now. Everything's fine. He'll be fine. All I need to do is get him to see that it's not his fault. That people here actually care about him. Everyone does. I will not let this be another Glory Bell. I will not let him think that everyone here will stab him in the back like Mama and our—no, not siblings. They hurt Yuugo and pushed him away because Mama told them to. No, they're not siblings.

They're not like these orphans. These kind, sweet orphans that care and are trying to save their family at Gracefield from the demons. Careful not to let a single one die. Loving, sweet children that can never betray a single soul.

I'll make Yuugo see that. It'll take a long time, but soon enough he'll come around and then we'll finally be able to live in peace.

I stop in front of his room. The door innocently stands there, just like any other door. Just the thought of what lays beyond it gives me the shivers. This is why Yuugo ran away from me. This room is the reason why he hates me now.

(Yuugo doesn't hate me, though. Quite the opposite. I know that. I also know that the room isn't the reason why he doesn't want to be around me anymore. I know that. He just feels like he has to live up to my expectations—which don't exist—and thinks that if I stay by his side, I'll die for real this time. He blames himself for what happened. I know that.

It's just easier to blame everything on a room. It's simpler. It's not as complicated or as intricate if I just blame everything on this room.)

I stare at the handle. The handle stares back. Everything other than the handle fades away. All I have to do is turn it and then—

—I'll lose any ounce of trust Yuugo has of me left. I'll lose my reason to exist. And I can't do that. I can't. Not again. I can't lose Yuugo again.

Never again.

Glaring at the door, I turn back. Down the hallway of all of our rooms. I wince at every door of memories I pass. Did Yuugo have to pass all of these doors every day for thirteen years? I can't imagine that. Why'd he put himself through so much pain?

This time the answer really is simple. Because he blames himself for their deaths.

I perk up at the sound of footsteps. Lots of them. And shouting. What's going on? Disturbed, I pick up the pace and move as fast as I can without putting too much weight on the prosthetic. I don't want the precious gift to break.

When I get there, all I can see are all of the orphans crying outside the hospital. They're all in tears. Gilda and Don stand off to the side with a hooded figure. Another orphan? I can't see most of her face, but she's certainly human. Her body shape is like that of a child or teen. I head over, curious as to who this new person is.

Immediately the girl ducks her head the moment the trio see me coming. She leaves with what looks to be a quick goodbye, and the other two seem a bit sad that she's leaving so soon. I watch her enter the hospital room, wondering if one of her friends is in there. It would make sense.

A sickening feeling settles when I don't see Yuugo in the crowd. Not even Emma or Ray. Did they not find Yuugo?

Is he... dead?

Shaking my head, I stop that train of thought. No, I refused to believe that Yuugo was caught by Lewis all those years ago and I have no reason to doubt him now. No, Yuugo didn't kill himself. There's no way he could've. That's not the Yuugo I know.

(Then again, it's been thirteen years of isolation for him. He didn't talk to a soul for thirteen long years. A lot must've changed about him. _I_ _don't know him anymore._)

I head over to Gilda and Don, both on the verge of tears. Gilda appears to be holding it in a lot better, but I can see her quivering. The moment I open my mouth, Gilda breaks down and prompts Don to do the same. Now I truly start to worry. "What? What's wrong?"

Gilda and Don look at each other through their tears. In the end Don replies with a shaking voice. "Well, we were going to come after you to give you the news. You see, the group found Mister." It takes a moment for me to link Mister to Yuugo. Even after all this time calling him Mister, I just can't think of Yuugo as anyone else. "That's the good news. The bad news is..." There Don ends, looking away.

"What?" I urge. "What's the bad news?"

"He's stopped breathing."

**And there you have it! Finally done! I hope everyone stayed in character, especially Lucas. There's something I hope I can achieve like how I did with this story, but until then I probably shouldn't talk about it until I actually accomplish it. Think of this as a maybe-surprise. Like, maybe there'll be a surprise or maybe there won't be. You'll never know (until I tell you).**

***I'm just making fun of how every time I get Yuugo to wake up he's in another place entirely. First up in the sky, then below the ground, and finally in an area where life doesn't exist (other than the shelter.)**

**Also, Yuugo always ends up back at the shelter even when he doesn't want to be there anymore. Thought I might add that in because I feel like if this really did happen in the manga then Yuugo would probably freak out over that happening over and over. Him always getting screwed over by life or fate or whatever while everyone else doesn't seem to be badly affected by life. It just seemed like part of his character.**

**Just think about how he might flip out if he finds out Norman is alive. That might make for some good content for this story...**

**Anyways, I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will probably be more chill than this one. You know, have some relaxation. Can't have you on the edge of your seat all the time, right? Gotta give you some time to relax, which is what I'm planning to do.**

**And that's all that I have to say.**


	16. Kinda A Filler

**So, here's the thing. Last chapter was really long, at 7k words. 7k WORDS! I didn't know I could write that long but I guess I did. The evidence is right there.**

**Anyways, my favorite characters to write are Yuugo (duh), Lucas (I do like him even though it's hard to write his personality), Sung-Joo, and also Gilda. I don't know why, but she makes me feel good when I write her. In my story, she tried really hard to get Yuugo to come out because she cares about everyone in the shelter and that made me feel good. Emma feels the same way, but Gilda is more motherly and kind. Emma's more childish yet also grown-up in her own way. That's why I like to write Gilda more.**

**Also, you're way too kind, QuestRunner. Seriously, I love reading your reviews. It keeps me on track and lets me focus. Unfortunately this chapter is going to take a while to publish. I'm having some writer's block.**

**{Anna's POV}**

My hands shake so violently that I'm not sure I can make any clean cuts. Even if my hands were still, I'm not even sure I'm in the right state of mind to do this. According to these books, every cut has to be made precisely. Fidgety hands can kill people during surgeries. Surgeons have to be calm in order to procede with the surgery. Being nauseous at the sight of blood is a big no-no. They can't flinch when cutting into another human being or the cut could become unsteady and kill the patient. And they must be very careful about where they're cutting; a simple mistake can lead to the patient's death.

This is all pretty basic stuff that's repeated over and over in these surgical books, yet I can't do most of those things because I can't calm down. I'm responsible for Mister's _life_. How can I be calm at a time like this? He's on a _ventilator_, for crying out loud! It takes everything Mister's got to breathe and stay alive and _I_ am the one that has to perform surgery on Mister? If I mess up, it's very likely Mister will _die_. How would I be able to face anyone if I killed Mister with my ineptitude?

Oh, Lucas will be _devastated_ if Mister doesn't make it. They'd been apart for thirteen years in the hopes that the other is still alive and now I have to decide Mister's fate? With these shaky hands? Is there even a chance that this procedure will succeed with me as the surgeon?

No, I have to calm down. I'm the only one that can do this. Mister's relying on me.

That thought only makes me tremble more. Mister is relying on me to do this right and I have never done this before. How can I do this? How can I child like me, a mess up in every way, possibly save Mister's life? _I'm_ more likely to kill him than whatever injury he has. There's no way I can do this.

A clawed hand gently pats my head in a calming gesture, stopping my shivers. The size of it is so similar to Emma's hands that I can tell it's Musica trying to calm me down and not Sung-Joo. I lean into the touch a bit, needing comfort for the big task ahead of me. Someone's _life_ rests in my hands. Not just anyone's life, but _Mister's_ life. And there's no room for my typical error.

"Are you alright, Anna?" Musica asks with a concerned frown. I jerkily nod even though I'm pretty sure I'm not. Mister's prone form lays on the bed, waiting for Sung-Joo to return. This procedure isn't too complicated (compared to other surgeries) but is still pretty dangerous considering I have no experience doing this kind of thing. Musica lowers herself to sit beside me, waiting patiently for me to speak.

Sighing, I silently wish to whatever being is up there that Mister will make it out okay. "I'm just scared that I'll mess this up. I have never done a surgery before, and Mister's counting on me to do this without any silly mistakes or else he might die. I mean, _everyone's_ counting on me not to mess up and there's no one there to help fix any mistake I might make. I'm not sure I can do this." I curl up further as I explain why I'm nervous to Musica.

She's always so understanding and kind, so it's not surprising to see her nod along and pat my back. In fact, it makes me feel a lot better to speak to Musica. "I know that it must be really hard to have Mister's life rest in your hands. It's a lot of responsibility for a human at your age. I have faith in you, though." Musica holds my hands and smiles, one so warm and genuine the butterflies disappear. "You all have so much strength to be able to make it this far outside with your family alive and intact, so I know that you can pull through this, too."

Her words bring about a feeling of confidence within me. If Musica believes I can do it, then I must be able to do it. Standing up, I thank Musica for her kind words and walk over to Sung-Joo (who had just returned) and Yuugo, holding the directions tightly in my hand. The jitters start to return the closer I am to Mister, but I just shake it off and tell myself, "I can do this. It doesn't matter how many ways this can go wrong; all I need to focus on is how to do this right. If I know that, then I'll know how to fix my mistakes."

The demon tilts his head at me yet doesn't say whatever he's thinking. Instead he says, "I brought the anesthesia you wanted," pointing to the container that he had returned with. I thank him for helping me, to which he nods back. Sung-Joo has been such a huge help that I don't know what I'd do without him.

I spare a glance towards Mister and feel my blood turn ice cold. For once, the man just looks sad and weak, barely clinging to life with the help of the ventilator. I have a weird feeling that Mister might not even be trying to breathe and the ventilator is doing everything, but there are multiple ways to explain away Mister's inability to breathe independently. Still, to see him like this... Once again, I remind myself that there's no time to feel bad for Mister or to be nervous about the surgery. Pulling on some gloves, I nod at Sung-Joo, desperately hiding my fear.

"Let's begin."

**{Lucas's POV}**

**Just so you know, it's the next day.**

Pacing in my room isn't nearly as calming as I thought it would be. Gripping my hair doesn't do any favors, either. Nothing is distracting me from my thoughts, and all I can think about is Yuugo suffering; perhaps he's gasping for air like Walter, unable to breathe because a portion of his torso is gone. Or choking on his own blood and slowly dying from suffocation. My imagination runs wild without any more information about his condition, and I can't stop the images of Yuugo deformed and injured from popping up.

It's all my fault that Yuugo left and now he's gotten hurt! I'm a horrible sibling. Anything I do to help Yuugo just twists around and hurts him. At this rate I'll be the reason that he dies. I don't want more blood on my hands. Especially Yuugo's blood.

But the feeling that's far worse than the guilt is fear, the kind that's causing me to tremble. The fear of losing control of the situation. Everything's slipping from my grasp and I can't do anything to change it. It's a horrible feeling. I know that I'm unable to help Yuugo and it hurts to understand just how _useless_ I am.

Like that time in Goldy Pond.

Trying to quell the rising guilt from that horrible thought, I head for the door. Anywhere is better than here or staying still. As I leave my room, I grab a cane that I had found in the shelter when I was younger; sometimes I would dress up fancily for dinner and pretend to be wearing a suit with this cane while Yuugo wore clashing clothes every time to contrast my neat, tidy look. As if in spite or to simply mess with our siblings. It got them to laugh whenever we stood side by side. Usually I wouldn't dwell on the past so happily like this, but in this moment it's nice to remember the better moments.

But I'm not going to be using the cane for that anymore. Instead I'm using the cane for balance since the prosthetic behaves strangely at times. I do appreciate the amount of care that they took to make not only the actual prosthetic but also the carvings of their names on it (Anna engraved Yuugo's name in neat cursive, something I like to trace over with my finger); however, I'm just not used to having two legs again. Not to mention that the piece of wood won't listen and refuses to bend at times when I try to walk. Other times when I put it down and raise my other foot, the knee starts to bend too much and then I lose my balance. It's still being worked on, but hopefully I'll soon have a fully functional prosthetic leg.

I test out my new leg and the cane, getting into a good position to walk a bit faster. Today the prosthetic is stubborn as a mule, for it refuses to bend at all and I can't get it fixed because Anna is working on—

No, I'm not thinking about that. Not today. I'm going to be positive and help the kids stay happy and optimistic. It's going to be fine. Anna is reliable and trustworthy. All of the orphans are.

I leave my room without looking back, purposefully heading away from Yuugo's room. Ever since I walked past it that one time, I've been getting the urge to just open it and see what made Yuugo so terrified. What he's scared to show me. Still, I'm not going to do that, so I've been giving that room a wide berth. Maybe Yuugo will open up to me later and let me see what he's afraid of.

I wander through the halls, trying to keep my mind off of things by looking around. If I keep walking forward, I'll enter the game room where we all used to play together. Of course, John was a natural at ping-pong; however, he had trouble saying the name correctly. A few turns and I'll stumble across Walter's old lab, probably still just as messy as when he left it.

Following my grumbling stomach, I limp into the kitchen (the prosthetic is really helpful yet also annoying when the joint stops working; not that I hate the gift in any way) and move towards the cabinets to help set up the table for breakfast. The fake leg really is helpful here, and for once I can safely say that the locked knee does wonders to help me when I need to reach for something up high. It's so stable and reliable when the joint freezes, but when I'm walking it does a bit more harm than good. Still, I enjoy wearing it, for I know that these children really do care about my wellbeing every time I take a step.

I set the cane by the counter as I place cups and plates down, for I need my only hand to carry the dishes. The cane is in the way for the moment. However, I do miss the added security and balance that it gives since the prosthetic is still rigid and makes walking a lot harder. Gilda hasn't seen me stumbling around with dishes yet, otherwise she would've forced me to sit down and relax.

With only a few more cups left to put down, I reach into the cupboard to pull out another cup. Yet it's empty. Strange. I peek into the cupboard to see if it really is empty or if I'm just being stupid when I freeze. A broken teacup, shattered beyond belief, sits at the very back. Unusable yet still standing.

Carefully, I pull the teacup out. All the sharp edges and gaps in the sides would easily cut into fingers, and sure enough, there is a spot of dried blood on one of the sharper edges. Staining something that Yuugo meticulously put back together. (It had to be Yuugo who fixed it. This was his cup. The thought of him being so desperate and alone as to fix this teacup over and over again makes my throat tighten painfully.) I rub the stain with my thumb gently, hoping for it to go away. It doesn't.

This is another reminder of how much I failed Yuugo. How much I hurt him. And yet he still blames himself for everything.

I carefully set the teacup back in the cupboard, wishing for all the guilt to hush and settle again in the back of my mind. There's no way I'm having another breakdown here. Not in front of the children. Taking a deep breath, I grab the cane and walk back to my room, feeling weak. Skipping breakfast is an unfortunate sacrifice, but I won't have another outburst in front of the orphans.

Luckily I make it back to my room in time, for the first signs are starting to appear. The familiar tight throat, burning eyes, blurred vision and racing heart. It's happening again. I thought it was over. I had hoped I was over this, that I was strong enough to control this kind of thing.

But apparently I was wrong, for the familiar loss of control is building up as I tremble in the corner, trying to calm down. Why is it so hard? Why can't I just stop being so scared? My heart is beating so hard that it hurts, each pump sending jolts of pain through me. And I don't know how to make it stop. With shaking, sweaty hands, I try to walk over to my bed; however, the cane slips out of my grip and I sway on my feet, feeling woozy and nauseous. The only reason I haven't fallen over yet is because of the prosthetic's locked knee.

This sudden weakness only reminds me of how useless I was in Goldy Pond, those times where I was so scared I couldn't move. Where I couldn't make myself move. I _promised_ that I wouldn't be like that again, but I can't force myself to stop freaking out.

Knowing that I can't control my body's responses only makes my fear grow. What if someone walks in here and sees me like this? So scared that I can't even move with no way to explain why. With no way to silence my fears. Just thinking about Oliver walking in on me again makes me shake harder and turn a dark shade of red from embarrassment. I told him that it would never happen again. That it was a one-time thing. Knowing that he could walk in any moment and see that I lied takes the wind out of me.

I can't let them know how much everything has truly affected me. Otherwise I can't inspire them anymore. If that happens, what will be my purpose? I'll lose all meaning in my life. Maybe I'll lose Yuugo again if he learns about this. I know he'll blame himself for these moments of vulnerability. And I can't hurt him any more than I have already.

Someone gently knocks on the door, but my head can hardly move to face them. I'm still shaking so hard that it's hard to keep standing even with the support of my fake leg. "Lucas? Are you in there?" Gilda's voice calls out. She sounds close and yet far away at the same time. "You didn't eat breakfast."

Hoping that Gilda can't hear the fear in my voice, I respond with, "I ate something already. I wasn't hungry." Such a dumb excuse. I'm an awful liar, but I hope that it was convincing enough for Gilda to at least drop this conversation. To convince her not to open the unlocked door. (I'm such an idiot for not locking it.)

"Well, what did you eat?" The hurt in her voice is apparent. My heart twists at the thought of hurting her feelings.

Surprisingly, my voice does not tremble as I try to carefully talk my way out of this. I'm not a very creative liar, not like Bess (no, don't think about her). "I ate, like, two apples. I don't eat a lot in the morning." At least part of that is true. As long as Gilda doesn't hear my stomach grumbling, she'll probably leave me alone.

There's a long pause before Gilda sighs, "Okay. Next time, tell me if you're going to skip." I agree immediately, wanting Gilda to get as far away from me as possible. I don't want her to see me like this.

**{Time skip}**

After Gilda walked off, I waited until I settled down like a parent with a screaming child. It took forever for the tremors to stop, and even longer for my heart to stop beating so loudly. Nobody else walked past during that time, and I'm finally grateful that my room is in this hallway for no one comes down here. None of the orphans will know that I broke down this badly, and I want to keep it that way.

Once I'm positive that my outburst is completely done (sometimes I think it's finished only for the fear to start up again with a vengeance), I lower myself down to pick up my fallen cane. It hurt to stand up this long, but I have to go outside before someone decides to see where I've gone.

The children have noticed my absence, but they think nothing of it when I walk in with a smile and a few stories to tell. With the younger orphans settling down to hear me talk, the older orphans can have some time to themselves and perhaps clean up the mess in peace. Another thing I'm good for.

I'm retelling the story of how Yuugo got stuck in a tree when the hooded girl walks past. I can't see anything other than her mouth, but I know the moment she sees me because she picks up the pace. She screams of danger, but I don't know why. And Gilda's talking to her as easily as any other orphan, so she must be a good friend. I shouldn't judge.

I put the girl out of my mind and continue the story.

It's hard to completely ignore her, though, as the children listen to me recall the tale. The girl whispers to Gilda, the sleeves too big to show her hands. Why is the cloak that big? Maybe it belonged to someone close to her. But why is she wearing it right now? The shelter is too warm for something like that. Perhaps she doesn't want to show her face. I don't know, so I should _stop thinking about it_ and focus on what I'm saying.

I'm at the part where Yuugo is crying and I'm attempting to calm him down when the girl's hands peek out from underneath the sleeve. My words almost come to a halt when I catch a glimpse of a claw before the sleeve falls back down. It happens so fast that I'm sure that it must've been my imagination. It had to be my imagination. No, it's just a trick of the light. It could've been something else entirely. I'm just being paranoid.

Even so, I have to remind myself that there are no demons in the shelter.

The orphans all gasp as I finally tell them how Yuugo slipped off the branch and fell, and then they collectively sigh when I tell them that Yuugo bounced right back up with the widest grin and not a single injury, the lucky guy; however, what I don't include in the story is my fear that Yuugo would snap his neck. The swift way gravity pulled him down. That soft yet sickening crunch Yuugo made the moment he hit the ground. How still his body was, and the tears that fell when I realized that Yuugo wasn't getting back up.

Even Mama screamed.

But the children are laughing as my mouth continued to speak and make jokes, so I push those thoughts back and laugh, too. I try not to think about how his heart stuttered underneath my palm, struggling to continue pumping blood. Instead, I laugh with the children and spin a new story, desperate to try and recall a pleasant memory that didn't end in tears.

But no matter how much I try to push it to the back of my mind, I won't ever be able to completely forget that night. After all, that was the day I first caught a glimpse of the monsters running the farms.

**Okay, I'm going to end Lucas's POV there simply because I can't think of a good way to end it other than to leave it as it is. Honestly, I wasn't expecting Lucas to end up like this, and I would change it if I didn't have too much of a writer's block to. I kept you waiting too long to make it longer for no reason other than to make it harder on myself.**

**{Musica's POV}**

As the demon walks out of the hospital, Musica sweeps her gaze along the entirety of the hallway. If she gets caught by the other adult, who knows what might happen. He hasn't had a good time with demons and isn't very likely to be as open as the others. They don't know too much of his past, but it's probably more traumatizing than they realize.

The children may not notice, but Musica could smell the sorrow rolling off of the adult in waves. So much so that she can't stand to be by him or else she herself may start to cry. Most demons learn to ignore the emotions they smell off of the humans, but Musica never had the luxury of a cold heart that other demons seem to be born with. She is easily swayed by human emotions, especially when it's all she can smell. Sorrow is the hardest to ignore, mostly because Musica doesn't know how to deal with the feeling.

So when she comes across the adult, Musica is glad that her feet don't freeze in place. Seeing Gilda on the other side of the room, she quickly bolts over, keeping a good distance between her and the adult. Now she's extremely thankful for the long sleeves, for if the adult catches even a glimpse of her claws, she would be outed right away. Hopefully there will be a better time to reveal herself, but not right now. Not right after Yuugo had been attacked by demons and Goldy Pond is still fresh in his mind.

Gilsa's eyes light up when she spots the demon, something that makes Musica's heart swell a bit. This is what she enjoys with the orphans. Their compassion and kindness for even a demon like her. "Oh, Musica! It's great to see you!" After a quick hug, Musica switches her focus over to the adult when another wave of sorrow washes over her. The scent is getting stronger by the minute.

There's no time to think, though, because Gilda immediately asks, "How's Yuugo? Is he okay? Was the surgery successful?" Now Musica's bombarded by not only the scent of sorrow but also worry from Gilda, and she has to bite her lip in order to keep the tears from falling. Keep it together.

Remembering why she's there, Musica nods and waves her arms in excitement—to keep the tears in, of course. (Certainly not because she cares for the human or anything.) "He's breathing again! They just took him off the ventilator, and in an hour or two Anna will let people go by him. After she sleeps a bit. The poor thing has been up all night."

Musica looks over at the adult laughing with the children, and his scent contradicts his body language. He looks happy, but he stinks of guilt, fear, and sadness. Noticing Musica's attention shift, Gilda catches on rather quickly. "Oh, I'll tell Lucas the good news. Don't worry, you won't have to talk with him." Before she leaves, Musica holds out an arm, careful not to let her claws show.

"I decided that I want to go back to the tunnels before your friend wakes up." Emotions are a fickle thing. Logically Musica knows this is the best solution. While the adult—Lucas—is distracted with his best friend, the two demons will sneak out without him ever knowing about what they actually are. Even though that she wants to be here to see the human wake up, Musica knows that this is best for not only her and Sung-Joo's safety but also for Lucas's sanity. He would never feel safe again in the shelter.

Musica would have left, too, if Sung-Joo wasn't being stubborn about leaving. "Wait, what? You're leaving, now?" These conflicting emotions are only growing worse standing in the same room as these humans. Why does this have to be so hard?

Clenching her fists, Musica wills herself to stay calm. "Well, I know I should leave. This shelter is not for demons." Those words don't sound as sure as Musica thought they would. The longer she stays here, the more Musica wants to stay. "But Sung-Joo wants to be there when the human wakes up. To say goodbye." After stalling a little bit, Musica says, "And I may or may not want to be with the human a little longer, too."

Saying those words calms the turmoil that had been rolling around inside her head. Even the strong scent of Lucas's distress doesn't dampen her mood as much.

Emotions are a fickle thing. Logically, Musica should leave the shelter. It would help make the humans feel more secure if they never learn of Musica and Sung-Joo's presence in the shelter. Staying here threatens Lucas's sanity and well-being. She will only get even closer to these humans, which will only put their lives in more danger.

Logically, leaving is the best action to take. Logically, staying is the worst action to take. But not everything has to be logical. Right?

Musica does feel a lot better after saying those words. Her heart swells with the idea of staying with this big, warm family for longer than she had previously thought. Until she sees Gilda's smirk. A sense of dread washes over the demon. "Oh, you so like him." It takes a moment for what Gilda said to sink in, and then Musica's happy that the hood covers most of her face for her face flushes red. "Admit it! Staying because you want to see Mister wake up? Come on, that screams love!" Now Gilda's the one becoming more and more excited at the other's expense, waving her hands around and her voice growing louder.

"T-That's not true!" Musica covers her face in embarrassment despite the hood covering her face. Thankfully the sleeves hide her claws rather well. "Don't say stuff like that out loud, Gilda."

"But it's true and you know it! You like Mister!" Suddenly Musica can't take it anymore. She regrets ever saying anything to Gilda. Unsure what to do, the demon decides to flee with Gilda at her heels.

Perhaps the logical solution _is_ the best solution.

**And that's it! Sorry for the long wait, I just couldn't get to writing this after getting Dark Souls for the first time. You know, I've gotten pretty good at it. At least, I think so. It's easier to fight the bosses, at least. Between Dark Souls and music, I haven't found the time to really write out this chapter and flesh it out more.**

**Not to mention that I'm having other story ideas for this. It will take some time, especially with Dark Souls as a thing I can do, but I think that I will be able to publish my ideas. Yay. More than one story.**

**Anyways, hopefully I'll be able to write faster and flesh out the characters a lot more. Until then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Again, sorry for the long wait and sucky chapter, but I'm going to really try and do this faster and better. Thanks for being reasonable, I guess.**


End file.
